November 11, 1918

Hello, everybody.  Welcome to the November 11 edition of the TUESDAY TIMELINE, and this could very well be one of the more important Tuesday Timeline entries that I have ever written.  It certainly will take us back to one of the most important dates ever recorded in modern day history, and once you understand the story behind today's date, you will understand why it is so important.

Of course, before we go ahead with the main feature of today's timeline post, we probably should have a look at some of the other events that took place on the eleventh of November.

For what it is worth, a lot happened on this date.

1100 - Henry I marries Matilda of Scotland

1620 - The Mayflower Compact is signed in what is now known as Provincetown Harbor

1675 - Integral calculus is demonstrated by Gottfried Liebniz for the first time

1750 - The first college fraternity is founded at Raleigh Tavern in Williamsburg, Virginia - The Flat Hat Club Society

1778 - 40 civilians and soldiers lose their lives in the Cherry Valley massacre during the American Revolutionary War

1831 - Nat Turner is hanged after inciting a violent slave uprising in Virginia

1864 - Union General William Tecumseh Sherman begins burning Atlanta to the ground during the American Civil War

1869 - The Victorian Aboriginal Protection Act is enacted in Australia

1889 - Washington becomes the 42nd state to join the United States of America

1922 - Author and soldier Kurt Vonnegut (d. 2007) is born in Indianapolis, Indiana

1925 - Actor/comedian Jonathan Winters (d. 2013) is born in Bellbrook, Ohio

1926 - The United States begins numbering their highways - which includes U.S. Route 66

1940 - One hundred and forty-four people are killed when a sudden blizzard blankets the Midwestern United States

1966 - NASA launches Gemini 12

1975 - The nation of Angola becomes an independent nation

1984 - Martin Luther King Sr. - father of civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr., dies at the age of 84

1992 - A historic vote within the General Synod of the Church of England grants women the right to become priests

2000 - In Kaprun, Austria, a cable car catches fire in an alpine tunnel, killing 155 people

2001 - Three journalists are killed when their convoy is attacked in Afghanistan

And, for celebrity birthdays, we have quite a few to share as well.  A very happy birthday goes out to June Whitfield, Bibi Andersson, Susan Kohner, Denise Alexander, Barbara Boxer, Marc Summers, Marshall Crenshaw, Andy Partridge, Peter Parros, Stanley Tucci, Demi Moore, Calista Flockhart, Kim Stockwood, David L. Cook, Carson Kressley, David DeLuise, Adam Beach, Tyler Christopher, Melissa Stark, Jason White, Leonardo DiCaprio, Natalie Glebova, Kalan Porter, Jessica Sierra, Vinny Guadagnino, Chanelle Hayes, and Connor Price.

All right.  As I said before, this is a date that is very, very important in our history books.  It is on this date that a major historical event came to an end, and ever since that date, we have internationally recognized it as an important event that we observe every year on this date.

The date in question?  November 11, 1918.

So, what happened 96 years ago on this particular date?  Well, to begin this tale, we actually have to go back in time even further to 1914.

You know, I can't believe that it was one hundred years ago that World War I first began.  I am sure that most of us know how the conflict began.  The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria on June 28, 1914 set off a keg of gunpowder that caused multiple nations to go to war with each other.  And anyone who has ever studied World War I in history knows just how deadly this conflict was.  The multiple battles that took place in the just over four year conflict resulted in thousands of casualties. 

For instance, in Canada (my birth nation), it is estimated that at least 60,000 members of the Canadian military sacrificed their lives for their country.  The number of soldiers who died from the United States was nearly double the amount that Canada lost.  France was perhaps one of the hardest hit nations that took part in war efforts, with over one million soldiers losing their lives.  At the time, that was 4% of France's overall population!  And in Austria - the country where the Archduke hailed from, at least 1.2 million were killed.

Of course, nobody knows the precise total of those who were killed in combat, but the total number of casualties in World War I was estimated to be around ten million people.

Those are ten million soldiers who bravely fought for their countries.  Ten million soldiers who left loved ones behind.  Ten million people who sacrificed their lives and their freedom so that the people they loved back home could still enjoy and experience freedom.

The war lasted from the summer of 1914 until the autumn of 1918.  November 11, 1918, to be exact.  A ceasefire occurred that day with the signing of an armistice agreement between Germany and Allied forces in a rail car parked in the middle of a French forest outside of Compeigne, France.  The official end of the war would not take place until the signing of the Treaty of Versailles a few months later.

However, the events of November 11, 1918 were significant enough for the date to have a permanent place on calendars all over the world. 

You see, the armistice agreement was signed at eleven o'clock in the morning.  The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.  And over the past ninety-six years and counting, we have used this moment in time to reflect back on the sacrifices that so many brave soldiers made to protect their homeland from harm against enemy forces.

In Canada, the day is known as Remembrance Day.  In the United States, it is called Veterans Day.  And if you live in Europe, most of you probably know of the day as Armistice Day.  Regardless of what the day is called in your countries, know that it is a day in which we pay tribute to our fallen soldiers by marking a two minute silence at eleven o'clock in the morning, lasting until 11:02.

There are other symbols and traditions that we all take part in on November 11.  In Canada, we wear poppies on our jackets as a symbol of remembrance (the symbol being the main focus of John McCrae's famous poem, "In Flanders Fields").  And I seem to remember going to the cenotaph in the middle of town with my elementary school classmates each year to pay our respects to those who gave their lives for their country.

I even remember taking part in the fifth grade Remembrance Day Assembly where we had to hold up a letter in the word BRAVERY and recite a small speech based on each letter.  I was the "B".  Talk about pressure being the first one to speak!  It was a great honour, though.  I was happy that I took part.

And, in recent years, Remembrance/Veterans/Armistice Day has reached a new level of importance.  The day was put in place to honour those soldiers who died during the first World War, but since 1918, we have also had to bear witness to a second World War, Korean War, Vietnam War, Operation: Desert Storm, Operation: Iraqi Freedom, and most recently, the battle against ISIS. 

Certainly here in Canada, we have more of a reason to honour our veterans and those who gave their lives for us - in particular with the tragic deaths of Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent, and Corporal Nathan Cirillo last month still fresh on all Canadians minds.

It is estimated that poppy distribution in my country is up by one million poppies from last year, and that record breaking crowds of people are planning to attend various war memorials all over the world to pay tribute to their fallen heroes.

So, to close this blog off...let us all take a moment today to pause in silence to remember those who died in combat.  May peace be with all of you.

The World of Final Fantasy Is Strange...

"YOU NEVER NOVEMBER WHAT YOU'RE GONNA GET" month continues with a throwback to the video game feature that I used to write when this blog first began.

I admit that I do miss writing entries about video games.  I don't really consider myself to be one of those hard core gamers who stands in line outside of EB Games for the latest game, or who stays up for twelve hours straight playing World of Warcraft.  But back in the day, I was certainly exposed to many different video games and video game systems.

Certainly when I was younger, one of my favourite video game series was "Final Fantasy".  There was just something about the Final Fantasy series that I enjoyed a lot.  Exploring new worlds.  Discovering new treasures.  Solving challenging puzzles.  Jabbing creepy monsters with pointy things in the hopes of increasing your bank account.

No, seriously.  In the worlds of Final Fantasy, every single living creature carries a wallet filled with gold.  Humans, animals, even plant life!  Kind of makes me wonder when I have ever seen a mutated vine plant shopping at Target.

But you know, the Final Fantasy world is a rather complicated one, and that is the subject of today's posting.

I've gone through the first ten games released in the series (I refuse to acknowledge the games released after Final Fantasy X because to me, they simply haven't measured up to the older games) to bring you some interesting facts about the worlds of Final Fantasy.

Let's put it this way.  If you tried some of the things in our world that some of the characters of Final Fantasy have done in theirs, you would be arrested, beat up, or murdered.

So, what can you do in Final Fantasy that you can't do in the real world?  Lots of things.

In most cases, you battle a series of monsters or corrupted humans in order to progress through the game.  And sometimes, you end up losing your life during some of these battles.  But nobody gets left behind.  Why you could carry your dead friends with you the whole game, and not one of them would show signs of decomposition!

But sometimes, you can fight ordinary household objects.  You can fight a series of baby dolls.

Or one giant doll.

Or a gigantic wall.

Or a bunch of beautiful flowers.

Or even the container that you can put beautiful flowers in.

But of course, once you get into towns, you are usually in a safe zone.  This town is the perfect place to bring your pet...beast.

And, apparently it is also a great place to take your clothes off inside of a public eatery.

Oh, yeah...don't worry about the people in town.  Not only do they keep their doors unlocked, but you can engage people in conversations despite the fact that you just broke into their house.

And, hey, while you're inside, why not ransack their living space?

Well, okay.  Some residents don't quite trust you with their treasure chests, and they hide monsters inside to guard them.

But speaking of treasures, the homes of the good townspeople are not the only places where they can be found.  They can be found outside...and surprisingly, what some might consider to be useless items, in the world of Final Fantasy, they are worth more than their weight in gold.

(The "Eyedrop" for example heals blindness.)

But again, you can find treasures in an abandoned prison.

Or in the middle of a cave.

Or, even in the stomach of a deadly demon dragon.  Ugh...would you want a treasure that is covered in digestive juices?

Now, when it comes to the world of Final Fantasy, there can be a lot of major inconsistencies.  For instance, if you are standing on a snow covered mountain, you can stand out in the middle of the blustery weather in short sleeves and miniskirts and still feel warm...

...well, unless you try to climb the mountain.  Then you will potentially freeze to death.

Oh, and you probably shouldn't go flying either.  You never know when a vulture the size of Texas will come and attack you.

But, then again, in the world of Final Fantasy, you can go up against monsters that are eight times your size and still come out victorious.

Oh, and in the Final Fantasy world, stealing is not a crime.  It is encouraged.

And, some of the best thieves have royal ties.  Did you know that?

And the fact that you happen to be hanging around someone who killed fifty people in a short amount of time?  No red flags here!

But, yeah...calling a woman a heifer is not okay in either world.

But Final Fantasy residents go to the bathroom just like everyone else...well, provided that they end up in jail, as those seem to be the only places in the Final Fantasy world that seem to have working toilets.

Oh, and never, ever get married in the Final Fantasy world.  They never live happily ever after.

Blondie and Dagwood

Hello, everyone!  We're almost through with another weekend!  I hope you all had a great one!

And, we're right smack dab in the middle of "YOU NEVER NOVEMBER WHAT YOU'RE GONNA GET" month!  How cool is that?

So, I was thinking to myself...what topic would I talk about today?

And you know what?  I have an answer.

Now, if you're new to this blog, you probably don't know this, but I began this blog almost three and a half years ago, and it definitely was presented a lot differently than it is now.  The layout was simplistic, the colour scheme was kind of like the same as a 1980s style living room, and this was my logo.  Hand drawn.

Baby, have we come a long way, or what?

Even the original theme days were completely different.  Here was the first week of topics that I had in place during the first week of this blog.

Monday - MONDAY MATINEE

Tuesday - TALK ABOUT TUESDAY

Wednesday - ACROSS THE POND AND BEYOND

Thursday - THURSDAY NIGHT AT THE ARCADE

Friday - TGIF:  FRIDAY NIGHT TV

Saturday - SATURDAY MORNING

Sunday - SUNDAY FUNNIES

You notice that I have highlighted the Sunday Funnies portion of this list, right?  Well, believe it or not, I will be making today's blog entry a Sunday Funnies entry. 

You probably wonder why I gave that theme day up.  Well, for one, the day ended up being a flop.  After only two weeks, I decided to drop it.  And secondly, I came to the realization that I had forgotten to add a music category to the mix, and I thought that since I could always talk about comic strip characters on Saturdays, having a Sunday Funnies section in the blog seemed a little redundant.  This, of course, lead to the creation of the Sunday Jukebox entry.

So, since this week, we will be having a Sunday Funnies entry, I suppose I should feature a comic strip that many people have heard of.  In fact, I think I may just choose a comic strip that will be celebrating a milestone birthday next year. 

Yes, today's post is about a comic strip that is considered to be one of the oldest comic strips still in print as of 2014.  It is older than Garfield (1978), Dennis the Menace (1951), Peanuts (1950), Beetle Bailey (1950), and Archie (1947).  And would you believe that the star of this comic strip was a blonde haired girl who defied the stereotype that most blonde women have had to endure?

I mean, let's face it.  Blonde women have not exactly been portrayed in pop culture in a positive light.  In fact, many people have used the expression "dumb blonde" to describe them.  I mean, with people like Chrissy Snow from "Three's Company", the original "Tool Time" girl from "Home Improvement", or the fact that any blonde extra on "Saved by the Bell" happened to be a bleached blonde, is it any wonder that blondes have gotten a really bad rap?

Well, when this comic strip debuted in September 1930 (that makes it 85 years old next year), this woman certainly proved that blondes certainly were anything but dumb.  Well, okay, granted she didn't start that way.  Marriage certainly had a great effect on her.

This is the story of Blondie Boopadoop Bumstead...but you probably know her best as Blondie.

Boy, does Blondie look good as an 84 year old, or what?

Now, of course, you probably have figured out that for a comic strip to last eight and a half decades that not all the comic strips were drawn by the same person.  Created by Chic Young (who passed away in 1973), the cartoon is now headed by Young's son Dean, and a variety of different artists which included Jim Raymond, Mike Gersher, Stan Drake, Denis Lebrun, and John Marshall.

Anyway, getting back to Blondie, if you have ever read a Blondie comic strip in your lifetime, then you know that Blondie Bumstead is the woman who keeps the Bumstead family glued together.  She is the most responsible of the household, and one of her full-time jobs seems to be supervising her sweet, but inept husband, Dagwood.  She also has to take care of her children Alex and Cookie, and the family dog, Daisy.

But she didn't exactly start out that way.

During the first three years of the comic strip's existence, Blondie was actually a bit of a wild child.  Think Paris Hilton in the early 1930s, if you will. She was an unapologetic flapper who spent her free time in dance clubs and her personality certainly seemed to match her activities.  Young, carefree, and lacking in responsibility.

It really wasn't until 1933 that Blondie became more responsible.  Of course, this was the year that Blondie and Dagwood tied the knot (which apparently was a major media event for its time), and initially it appeared as though Blondie was going to be set for the rest of her life, as Dagwood came from an extremely wealthy family.  But fate stepped in when Dagwood's extremely snooty family denounced Blondie - saying that she wasn't good enough to marry into the Bumstead family, and they cut Dagwood out of the family - effectively blocking him from his inheritance.

And so marked the transformation of Blondie and Dagwood.  In fact, one could call it a personality switch.  Blondie became the responsible, level-headed one, while Dagwood became the tower sandwich eating, mailman bulldozing clown of a husband.

And really, in the case of Blondie and Dagwood, opposites truly did attract.

Now, in addition to the comic strip, Blondie certainly made her mark in other forms of media.  There was a highly successful radio program based on the comic strip that lasted for eleven years.  A series of films were also made between 1938 and 1950. 

And, believe it or not, there were even a couple of cartoon specials airing between 1987 and 1989 that featured Frank Welker as Dagwood and Loni Anderson as Blondie.  Don't believe me?  Well, watch a small clip of one as we conclude this blog on Blondie!  If anything, the theme song is kind of catchy.

If I Knew You Were Coming, I'd Have Frosted The Cake Correctly...

Well, we're already one week into "YOU NEVER NOVEMBER WHAT YOU'RE GONNA GET" month, and already I am having a lot of fun with switching things up in this blog.

Like for instance, with today's blog post.

I know that Saturdays have been all about movie posts the last few months, but this Saturday, I thought I would take the opportunity to make you all laugh.  That's why I have decided to make FUNNY MONDAY a SNICKER SATURDAY instead.

(Hey, I'm a master at schedule reshuffling, not names.)

And, a Saturday morning program inspired this post.

I hate to admit it, but "Saved By The Bell" was the show that gave me the idea for this show.  In particular, the third season episode known as "Zack's Birthday" which originally aired in 1991.

It was the episode in which Zack was celebrating his birthday the same week that he, Slater, Screech, Lisa, Kelly, and Jessie were about to spend the summer at Malibu Sands Beach Club.  Five of the six had gotten jobs at the club, while Lisa's parents were members (therefore Lisa was also a member and didn't need to work, but hung around the gang anyway). 

That episode kicked off the infamous "Saved By The Bell at the Beach" arc where Zack falls in love with Stacey Carosi, his boss is the guy that eventually plays Pumbaa on "The Lion King", and Kelly and Lisa discover that living with Jessie is not an easy task.

But one significant plot point of "Zack's Birthday" is the fact that Zack's friends are trying to throw him a surprise birthday party at the beach club.  And anybody who has ever tried to throw a surprise party knows how challenging it is.  Especially when you are trying to answer calls at the reception desk while placing an order for a birthday cake - as Jessie tried to do. 

This was the end result.

"Happy Wrong Number By The Sea".  Now, isn't that a phrase you'd find on a Hallmark card!

But it got me thinking.  Depending on phone connections, enunciation, and just plain common sense (or lack there of), there has to be other examples of cakes that had the best of intentions, but came out wrong, funny, or just plain offensive.

Well, why don't we take a look at some other desserts that ended up getting their...just desserts...and why some cake decorators should maybe pursue another hobby.  Macrame.  Finger painting.  Chainsaw juggling.  Anything but cake decorating!

We'll get to these examples of cakes gone bad in a moment.  But first, let me credit ManagingYourMind.com, Buzzfeed.com, theberry.com, AmusingPlanet.com, CakeWrecks.com, DailyWritingTips.com, and 11points.com for the images used in today's post.

Okay.  Let's see some cakes that should have probably never been frosted.

1.  Poor Suzanne.  Her going away cake was ruined by a cake decorator who apparently couldn't understand the meaning or spelling of "underneath".

2.  How the heck many ways can you spell a name?  This poor guy attempted it at least five tries.  Hopefully the purple icing tastes good.

3.  Well doesn't this cake just scream mixed signals?

4.  As small as possible?  Is that in reference to the cake, the text, or the IQ of the icing handler?

5.  As ordered by a 47-year-old who clearly doesn't care about birthday celebrations.

6.  AUGH!  As if this cake wasn't horribly executed enough - they misspelled the word sprinkles!

7.  I don't believe I have ever heard of a high school called Fireworks Explosion High...but it sounds like it would have been a lot more fun than my own high school.

8.  What happens when your cake decorator flunks cursive writing, yet holds a degree in just plain...cursing.

9.  Okay, who the hell is Marry Christmos and why does she get her own cake?

10.  Congratulations!  You flunked cake decorating school!  Your reward?  This cake.

11.  Well...to be fair, they did spell Sheri's name the way it was supposed to be spelled.

12.  Happy Birthday, Adam With Blue Flowers.  Yours truly, Carly Without Word Filter.

13.  You know your birthday must suck when your cake "Rickrolls" you.

14.  You know, writing the words "Happy Birthday" would have ironically used less time and icing.  Just saying.

15.  I just...I can't...

16.  Maga kum latte, guys.  Maga kum latte.

17.  Guilt trips.  Now in French Vanilla.

18.  Geez, this message on this cake must be so offensive that it censors itself!