From the flying of the first kite, man has been on a quest of flight...the longest, the highest, the fastest, the most luxurious. Lighter-than-air balloons led to gliders to powered heavier-than-air craft to supersonic jets to space shuttle flights to the solar airplane. November is the month to get to know and celebrate the Famous Firsts in Aviation.
The railroad is an icon of American history. Scale modeled railroads have become a means to preserve the evolution of the train and relive some of the most treasured memories. A lot of us grew up with the railroad during some of its most meaningful times. A scaled-down version of the iron horse can instill the beauty and power of the railroads of days gone by.
Want to write a novel? Then, get started on November 1st and make a pledge to write 50,000 words in 30 days. Join the challenge of many writers during "NaNoWriMo".
"To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan, and not quite enough time." ~Leonard Bernstein
Celebrate and explore the cultural contributions of the American Indians. Seek and research the history and heritage of the American Indian, learn about firsts by American Indians, read biographies of famous American Indians, find statistics and facts about different tribes and reservations, locate the best American Indian novels and insightful proverbs.
Celebrate one of our nation's favorite foods - peanut butter! Those of you who can hardly go a day without peanut butter will be in 'peanut butter heaven' this month! There will be more than 60,000,000 (60 million) pounds of peanut butter consumed during the month of November. Eat up! Great source of daily protein.
Sleep is essential to good health and well-being. In this day and age, we are all constantly busy making a good night's sleep even more important than ever. Getting the right amount of sleep helps you do your best in whatever you may do. Keep the mindset of sleep being just as important as proper diet and exercise.
Learn about diabetes and how it relates to your family history. America Gets Cooking℠ to Stop Diabetes® is an initiative designed to inspire people to live a more active and healthier lifestyle, empowering all Americans to cook nutritious and delicious food, and be more active. Staying healthy throughout the holiday season is definitely something of high value!
That is a lot of celebration...and, as with months past, is not all being celebrated but all for now! Enjoy November!
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| Pop as a high school senior, 1965. |
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| Iggy Pop, October 25, 1977 at the State Theatre in Minneapolis |
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| Pop at the UK Hop Farm Festival, July 2011 |
The Stooges soon gained a reputation for their wild, primitive live performances. Pop, especially, won fame for his outrageous onstage behaviour—smearing his bare chest with hamburger meat and peanut butter, cutting himself with shards of glass, and flashing his genitalia to the audience. Pop is also sometimes credited with the invention or popularization of stage diving. Source: en.wikipedia.com
1967 Iggy and the Stooges made their live debut when they played at a Halloween party in Michigan.
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| Mount Rushmore before construction, circa 1905. Image Source: en.wikipedia.org |
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| Construction of Mount Rushmore Monument Image Source: en.wikipedia.org |
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| Mount Rushmore, showing the full size of the mountain and the scree of rocks from the sculpting and construction. Image Source: en.wikipedia.org |
From 1927 to 1941 the 400 workers at Mount Rushmore were doing more than operating a jackhammer, they were doing more than earning $8.00 a day, they were building a Memorial that people from across the nation and around the world would come to see for generations. Source: Mount Rushmore
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| Horses on the plains at Mustang Monument (Kristi Johnson) |
The name Nevada comes from the Spanish Sierra Nevada (which is also a mountain range in Spain), or snow-covered mountain range. "Nevada" is the Spanish feminine form of "covered in snow."
Nevada boasts several nicknames with The Battle Born State being the official state slogan. It recalls that Nevada was admitted to the union in 1864, during the Civil War. This slogan also appears on the Nevada State Flag. The Silver State dates from the Nevada silver rush days of the mid 1800s. At that time, silver was literally shoveled off the Nevada ground. Heavy gray crusts of silver had formed on the surface of the desert over millions of years and were polished by dust and wind to the dull luster of a cow horn (called "horn silver"). Since silver is one of the state's most important industries, Nevada is also referred to as The Mining State. Wild sagebrush is abundant in Nevada, thus, the nickname The Sagebrush State or "Sage State". Because of its abundance, sagebrush is Nevada's official state flower and is found on the Nevada state flag. Being a true bird of the West, the sage hen or sage grouse, once very plentiful in Nevada, gives us the nickname, The Sage-hen State.
Nevada is known as a Wild West state that's still a little wild, but there's more to this ancient desert land than the City of Sin. This aerial tour highlights Nevada's vital role in the shaping of America, from the mines and ghost towns of its gold and silver rush, to its icon of American ingenuity: the Hoover Dam. Discover the highs and lows of Nevada's history, and the booms and busts that have defined it as the land of big builders and bigger dreamers.
Nevada's harsh but rich environment shaped its history and culture. In the 1820s, trappers and traders entered the Nevada territory. In 1843–1845, John C. Frémont and Kit Carson explored the Great Basin and Sierra Nevada. The U.S. obtained the region in 1848 following the Mexican War, and the first permanent settlement was a Mormon trading post near present-day Genoa. In 1859, Nevada was made famous by the discovery of the Comstock Lode, the richest known U.S. silver deposit. Nevada became the 36th state on October 31, 1864, after telegraphing the Constitution of Nevada to the Congress days before the November 8 presidential election (the largest and costliest transmission ever by telegraph).
Nevada designated the mountain bluebird as the official state bird in 1967 (also the state bird of Idaho). A small thrush found on ranchland and other open areas of the American West, the mountain bluebird lives in Nevada's high country. It prefers more open habitats than other bluebirds and can be found in colder habitats in winter.
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| How Nevada Got Its Shape |
