A couple of tags

Thinking Aloud tagged me for a random facts meme. I thought about it for a while and then decided to dust off this old chestnut and use it again. It actually still fits nicely.

The instructions tell me to tag others but, oh heck, you know me, just jump in and have some fun. Then let me know so I can read YOUR random and weird facts.

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Ret recently sent a tag along to me that I thought was really interesting. The tag asks for an explanation of why/how I chose the name of my blog. I am to then ask two other people to explain as well. So here is my explanation - short and sweet:


I traveled across country several times via train when I was young. I think I was 12 the last time I road the rails. It was Santa Fe all the way. Back then kids were given a measure of freedom that no sane parent would allow today. I would spend hours alone in the dome car watching the landscape pass. It was, in a word, mesmerizing.

I remember thinking that the train seemed to be going so slowly. The world went by at a leisurely pace and I always felt I had enough time to enjoy the details of went before me. This image of a slow moving train has always stuck with me and somewhere along the line I imagined that someday I would write, short stories, vignettes, memories, etc. of my life and wrap them all up in a journal(s) called Scenes from a Slow-Moving Train.

That this actually happened, albeit, as a blog, is still a source of surprise for me. But in March of 2006 inspiration in the form of a friend's blog and then my introduction to the world of blogging has brought me to this day 21 months later still going strong yet immeasurably changed and all because I actually started writing MY scenes from my slow-moving train.

For this tag, I WILL select two to pass the question along to. I'm curious. So - what was the inspiration for YOUR blog name?

http://turquoisecro.blogspot.com/
and
http://bimbimbie.blogspot.com/

Birthday meme

Meme: The term "meme" (IPA: /miːm/, rhyming with "theme") was coined in 1976 by the biologist Richard Dawkins to refer to a "unit of cultural information" which can propagate from one mind to another in a manner analogous to genes (i.e., the units of genetic information).

A Meme in today's world is a short list of curious questions that one "tags" a friend with; it propagates via blogs, email and web sites. This particular meme comes to me via The Bemused Muse: Ok Toni, I'm sorry I didn't ask permission before I lifted this.

Here are the rules:

1. Go to Wikipedia and type in your birthday, month and day only - or another history resource if your date has slim pickin's (like mine did)
2. List 3 events that occurred on that day.
3. List 2 important birthdays
4. List one notable death
5. List a holiday or observance (if any)
6. Tag five of your friends.

My birthdate - November 18th

Three events that occurred on this date:
1626: In Rome, St Peter's Church is consecrated
1883, four standard time zones for the continental U.S.A. were introduced at the instigation of the railroads.
1963: The Bell telephone company introduce the first push button telephones in the United State

Two people who share my birthdate are:
1909: Johnny Mercer, US composer
1923: Alan Shepard, First American astronaut in space - and my personal favorite along with Gus Grissom

List 1 death - there were a lot to choose from and this one struck me as most interesting
Gia Carangi, supermodel junkie, died of AIDS 1986

List a holiday or observance. (if any) - OK, it's not precisely a holiday, but it was listed as an observance and historically it was a rather big deal event. Not to mention, I think this is very cool.

Mickey Mouse debuted in Steamboat Willie at the Colony Theater in New York on Nov. 18, 1928.

And an additional Birthday just FYI -Minnie Mouse's Birthday is also November 18, 1928...same as Mickey Mouse's

Tag 5 other bloggers.
Tagging people seems to not work well for me. It's sort of like throwing a scrapbooking party or tupperware party and two people show up - Maybe. So, if this meme appeals to you (and it actually was pretty informative), consider yourself TAGGED