Main Page

1540 - Afghan chief Sher Khan defeated Mongul Emperor Humayun at Kanauj. 

1630 - Italian Jesuit Niccolo Zucchi saw the belts on Jupiter's surface. 

1681 - Louis XIV sent an expedition to aid James II in Ireland. As a result, England declares war on France. 

1756 - Britain declared war on France, beginning the French and Indian War. 

1792 - The New York Stock Exchange was founded at 70 Wall Street by 24 brokers. 

1814 - Denmark ceded Norway to Sweden. Norway's constitution, which provided a limited monarchy, was signed. 

1875 - The first Kentucky Derby was run at Louisville, KY. 

1877 - The first telephone switchboard burglar alarm was installed by Edwin T. Holmes. 

1881 - Frederick Douglass was appointed recorder of deeds for Washington, DC. 

1926 - The U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires was damaged by bombs that were believed set by sympathizers of Sacco and Vanzetti. 

1932 - The U.S. Congress changed the name "Porto Rico" to "Puerto Rico." 

1939 - The first fashion to be shown on television was broadcast in New York from the Ritz-Carleton Hotel. 

1940 - Germany occupied Brussels, Belgium and began the invasion of France. 

1946 - U.S. President Truman seized control of the nation's railroads, delaying a threatened strike by engineers and trainmen. 

1948 - The Soviet Union recognized the new state of Israel. 

1954 - The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled for school integration in Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka. The ruling declared that racially segregated schools were inherently unequal. 

1956 - The first synthetic mica (synthamica) was offered for sale in Caldwell Township, NJ. 

1973 - The U.S. Senate Watergate Committee began its hearings. 

1975 - NBC TV bought the rights to show "Gone With the Wind." The one time rights cost NBC $5,000,000. 

1980 - Rioting erupted in Miami's Liberty City neighborhood after an all-white jury in Tampa acquitted four former Miami police officers of fatally beating black insurance executive Arthur McDuffie. Eight people were killed in the rioting. 

1985 - Bobby Ewing died on the season finale of "Dallas" on CBS-TV. He returned the following season. 

1987 - Eric ‘Sleepy’ Floyd of the Golden State Warriors set a playoff record for points in a single quarter with 29. 

1987 - An Iraqi warplane attacked the U.S. Navy frigate Stark in the Persian Gulf, killing 37 American sailors. Iraq and the United States called the attack a mistake. 

1990 - Kelsey Grammer was sentenced to 30 days in jail for DWI. 

1996 - U.S. President Clinton signed a measure requiring neighborhood notification when sex offenders move in. Megan's Law was named for 7-year-old Megan Kanka, who was raped and killed in 1994. 

1997 - Rebel leader Kabila declared himself president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly Zaire. 

1997 - Sylvester Stallone and Jennifer Flavin were married in London. 

1998 - New York Yankees pitcher David Wells became the 13th player in modern major league baseball history to throw a perfect game. 

1999 - Eric Ford, a tabloid photographer, was sentenced to 6 months at a halfway house, 3 years probation and 150 hours of community service. The sentence stemmed from a charge that Ford had eavesdropped on a call between Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman and then sold a recording of the conversation. 

1999 - Alex Trebek received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 

2000 - Thomas E. Blanton Jr. and David Luker surrendered to police in Birmingham, AL. The two former Ku Klux Klan members were arrested on charges from the bombing of a church in 1963 that killed four young black girls. 

2000 - Austria, the U.S. and six other countries agreed on the broad outline of a plan that would compensate Nazi-Era forced labor. 

2000 - It was announced that Terra Networks SA and Lycos would be merging with the new name to be Terra Lycos. Terra made the deal happen with the purchase of $12.5 billion in stock. 

2001 - The U.S. Postal Service issued a stamp based on Charles M. Schulz's "Peanuts" comic strip. 

2006 - The U.S. aircraft carrier Oriskany was sunk about 24 miles off Pensacola Beach. It was the first vessel sunk under a Navy program to dispose of old warships by turning them into diving attractions. It was the largest man-made reef at the time of the sinking. 

2007 - Trains crossed the border dividing North and South Korea for the first time since 1953.

And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?  And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.  And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon. And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.  And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.  And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.  And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;  And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.  And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;  Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.  And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.  And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown

yield - one quart

• 2 cups half-and-half
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1 cup minus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons peach preserves (not jelly)
• 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

Directions

Combine all ingredients (including the bean and its pulp) in a large saucepan and place over medium heat. Attach a frying or candy thermometer to inside of pan. (see note below) Stirring occasionally, bring the mixture to 170 degrees F. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Remove the hull of the vanilla bean, pour mixture into lidded container and refrigerate mixture overnight to mellow flavors and texture. Freeze mixture in ice cream freezer according to units instructions. The mixture will not freeze hard in the machine. Once the volume has increased by 1/2 to 3/4 times, and reached a soft serve consistency, spoon the mixture back into a lidded container and harden in the freezer at least 1 hour before serving.

NOTE: If you do not have a thermometer, bring the mixture just barely to a simmer. As soon as you see a bubble hit the surface, remove it from the heat. Do not let it boil.

For those of you who are looking for a " quick fix " financially or a get rich quick scheme, and you are looking to prosperity preachers for encouragement... just remember this fact - it is economically troubled desparados who give their tithes and offerings and itching ears to those positive confession prosperity preachers who are the ones who make those prosperity preachers rich, which in turn motivates them to continue preaching their faith prosperity doctrine, attracting economic desparados who pay their tithes and offerings to prosperity preachers in the hope of getting rich like those prosperity preachers are.

Just remember this Biblical truth if you are interested in the Bible as a whole and not just bits and pieces of it... the Bible says that even wicked people prosper financially and tower like a tree.

Just be careful what prosperity doctrine you listen to!

Wayne Brown

Fox News

The Florida Department of Education lowered the performance level standard on a state writing exam after only 27 percent of fourth graders passed, MyFoxOrlando reports.

The decision to lower the standard from a four to a three was made in an emergency conference call Tuesday. The test scores range from zero to six.

Fourth grade teachers say the test inadequately reflected their pupils' writing abilities. They say the main reason the students did poorly was the test question was too hard.

According to the Florida Department of Education, the prompt, or essay topic, for fourth graders in the state of Florida this year was, "Suppose you or someone else had a chance to ride a camel. Imagine what happens on this camel ride. Write a story about what happens on this camel ride."

Some teachers say the question was unfair, arguing it may be unrealistic to expect fourth-graders to know what a camel is.

"It was just a very poor prompt, when do we see camels in Central Florida," said Ann Egitto, a language arts teacher at Rock Lake Middle School according to MyFoxOrlando.

Lisa Wright, a teacher at Idyllwilde Elementary School, agrees. "A lot fourth graders in my school probably don't even know what a camel really is," she said according to MyFoxOrlando.

However, the Department of Education told MyFoxOrlando the question was extensively reviewed and well-received by about 1,500 students who were selected to take it during a field-testing period.

They admitted they could have done a better job communicating student expectations to teachers after lowering the passing grade.