SUNDAY FUNNIES: STARTING THE NEW YEAR RIGHT...

Hello Everybody! Waxy Dragon here!

Last weekend I helped Autumn the Puppy ring in the new year. Of course, considering that episode of the Sunday Funnies was posted on January 3, so technically we were a bit late, but it WAS the first Sunday of the new year and we have no control over the calendar.

Anyway, now it's my first solo turn of 2016, so I want to kick things off right by giving everyone a positive, inspirational message to face the rest of the year ahead.

Ready?

"IF YOU CAN..."

If you can start the day without caffeine...

If you can be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains...

If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles...

If you can eat the same food everyday and be grateful for it...

If you can understand when loved ones are too busy to give you time...

If you can overlook when people take things out on you, even through no fault of yours, something goes wrong...

You can take criticism and blame without resentment...

If you can face the world without lies and deceit...

If you can conquer tension without medical help...

If you can relax without liquor...

And if you can sleep without the aid of drugs...

Then... you are almost as good as your dog or cat!

Something to think about folks, because the world would be a much better place if we ALL got our act(s) together.

Have a great week, and please be back here next weekend for more Sunday Funnies!—wd.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW: JANUARY 3-9, 2016

THE BATMAN TV SERIES WITH ADAM WEST AND BURT WARD DEBUTED JANUARY 12, 1966; MAKING 2016 ITS 50th ANNIVERSARY.

AMONGST EVENTS AROUND THE WORLD THIS PAST WEEK...

*While North Korea says they have successfully tested a hydrogen bomb, there is no physical evidence to support their claim.
*Saudi Arabia has stopped diplomatic relations with Iran after Sheikh Nimr's execution and an attack on the Saudi embassy in Tehran.
*The fugitive drug lord known as "El Chapo" has been recaptured.
*Egypt, Japan, Senegal, Ukraine and Uruguay are now officially part of the United Nations Security Council.
*The United Kingdom has designated Ascension Island and its surrounding waters in the Atlantic Ocean as a Marine protected area.
*FOUR new elements have officially been added to the Periodic Table.

TERRIBLE TERRORIST ACTIVITIES...

*ISIS/ISIL forces have claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing of an Iraqi Army base.
*Despite repeated attempts to do so, ISIS/ISIL forces have yet to seize control of the Libyan oil port of Sidra, but claim they are now in command of the nearby town of Bin Jawad.

PASSING PARADE...
*Robert Balser, animator on Yellow Submarine and Heavy Metal, has passed away.
*Actor (One Day At A Time), comedian (The Jack Paar Show) and voice actor (Inspector Clouseau of animated shorts) Pat Harrington, Junior has taken his last bow on life's stage.

WITHIN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA...
POLITICALLY...

*With all the important issues that MUST be done and have yet to be addressed, Republicans in Congress managed to pass a bill calling for the immediate end of the Affordable Health Care Act, aka "Obama Care" and the defunding of Planned Parenthood. President Barack Obama promptly vetoed the measure.
*Meanwhile, President Obama announced executive orders to expand background checks for firearms and toughen regulation of firearms since those same Republicans will not take legislative action themselves.
*YET THOSE SAME REPUBLICANS are considering a possible bailout to help Volkswagen after all their emission and legal troubles of late.
*President Obama's last State of the Union address is scheduled to be given January 12.
*The official citizenry of Republican Presidential nominee hopeful Ted Cruz has been called into question. The issue the GOP has tried to avoid discussing: despite having an American mother, Cruz was born in Canada, where she lived with his Canadian father at the time.
*Regardless of who becomes the next President of the United States, will there be a constitutional convention in 2017 to suggest changes to the Constitution?
ELSEWHERE...
*As Pfizer merged with Ireland based Allegran to reduce its American tax bill, the company RAISED prices on over 100 medicines in the United States.
*Natalie Cole's cause of death has officially been declared as idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension, which led to heart failure.
*Could the Playboy Mansion be for sale by the end of 2016???
*Actor Michael Weatherly has announced he will leave NCIS as Anthony DiNozzo at the end of the current season.
*The 15th and final season of American Idol has begun.
*The San Diego Chargers, St. Louis Rams and Oakland Raiders all want to relocate to Los Angeles.
*Ken Griffey, Junior and Mike Piazza will enter the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame this summer.
*Are Jose Reyes, Yasiel Puig and Aroldis Chapman in trouble with Major League Baseball over domestic violence issues?

For more news at any time, either scroll down to our IN OTHER NEWS feature at the bottom of your screen or visit any other reputable news source.

THE PUZZLE CORNER: JANUARY 9, 2016

FUN FACT
Panama is the only place in the world where you can see the sun rise over the Pacific Ocean and set on the Atlantic Ocean!

COMMON BONDS
The items in each subset have something in common.
Do you know what it is?

01. {Basketball, volleyball, racquetball} and the answer is not sports.
02. {Joan Fontaine, Olivia de Havilland} and the answer is not actresses.

THE 50/50 CHANCE
Just like a regular TRIVIA TIME question, but there are only two possible answers, hence the even odds of getting it right. Ready?

Is Hexadactylism life threatening?

We'll reveal all next weekend. But for now, let's open up THE ANSWERS BOX and discover the results of the January 2, 2016 Puzzle Corner.

AKA (Also Known As)
By what name do we know John Joseph Patrick Ryan better as?

Actor Jack Lord.

THE LETTER SHUFFLE
How many new words can you create, using the letters in the term NEW YEAR?

A, an, any, are, awe, aye
Ear, earn, ewe, eye
Nay, nee, near
Ran, raw, ray, renew
War, ware, warn, way, wean, wear, weary, were, wren
Yarn, yaw, yawn, yea, yearn

New and Year don’t count because they were part of the original phrase. Other words than the 31 listed above might be possible.

SUNDAY FUNNIES: STARTING OFF THE NEW YEAR ON THE RIGHT PAW (2016)

Autumn the Puppy

Waxy Dragon

"Well folks! Here we are at the start of a brand NEW year!
Three hundred and sixty-SIX days, because 2016 is a Leap Year and—"
"Say Autumn. If this is a Leap Year, what's it jumping over?" asked Waxy Dragon.

"Technically, nothing. Because calendars are inanimate objects Waxy. But a true year is actually 365 days and SIX HOURS, so they save all those extra hours and make an extra day out of them every four years," explained Autumn. "Think of it as intergalactic frequent flyer miles."

"WOW! With no blackout dates or restrictions!"

"Right. So anyway, we were trying to figure out what to do for the first Sunday Funnies of the new year, and decided to share this post. Starting with a few, appropriate celebrity quotes. As usual, my comments are afterwards in italics," said Autumn.

"Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better person."—Benjamin Franklin
Better people make a better planet, and we ALL can certainly use a better world!

"We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day."—Edith Lovejoy Pierce
In other words folks, it's the start of a brand new year. Let's try to do things right this time!


"The coming of the new year has always been time for reflection and making plans," said Waxy. "New Year resolutions to change things about ourselves or our lives to hopefully make them better. Some will make these resolutions today, and break them by tomorrow. Below are a few suggestions for resolutions that you may want to consider.
Or not."

To save money, I will do less laundry and use more deodorant.
Then again, considering that technically neither Autumn or I wear clothes, we're already ahead of the game.

Stop repeating myself again, and again, and again.

I will not bore my boss with the same excuses for missing work.
I will think of some new ones.

Stop repeating myself again, and again, and again.

I wanted to resolve to stop procrastinating all the time. But, I think I'll wait.

And last but not least...

Stop repeating myself again, and again, and again.

"2015? Bleh!"

"Well folks," said Autumn, "here's hoping that 2016 will be a much better year than the last one. Because on the right is a statement from our Earth, in regards to what it thought of 2015!"

"And as usual, on behalf of Autumn the Puppy and myself, have a great week and please be back here again next weekend for more Sunday Funnies!"
WD and AtP.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW: DECEMBER 27, 2015-JANUARY 2, 2016

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

AMONGST EVENTS AROUND THE WORLD THIS PAST WEEK...
*While other countries are still trying to figure out what to do with refugees fleeing terrorism in the Middle East, Germany has hired tutors to help those resettling to that country learn the native language.
*The World Health Organization has declared Guinea free of Ebola.
*Current President of Iceland Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson has announced he will not seek re-election.
*Parents in China can now have up to 2 children in their family, instead of one.
*Japan and South Korea have reached their "final and irreversible agreement" on the matter of comfort women (sex slaves during World War 2). South Korea will oversea Japan's effort to re-compensate the survivors, while removing a statue memorializing them from the grounds of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul.

PASSING PARADE...
NOTE: This list is only of those who have left us since IN MEMORIUM 2015 was posted.
*Actor Wayne Rogers (M*A*S*H*, City of Angels, House Calls) has taken his last bow on life's stage.
*Singer Natalie Cole, famous daughter of the late Nat King Cole.
*Northern Mariana Islands Governor Eloy Inos has passed away while still in office.

WITHIN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA...
POLITICALLY...

*Congress is still officially on Winter Break for the moment.
*Former New York Governor George Pataki has officially ended his bid for the 2016 Republican Presidential nomination, in a multi-candidate field that still has Donald Trump as the current front runner. The poll process is scheduled to begin soon.
*While authorities are still investigating the matter, someone didn't like Donald Trump enough to express that opinion in skywriting over the 2016 Tournament of Roses Parade!
ELSEWHERE...
*Despite his recent counter suing against 7 of his accusers, Bill Cosby has officially been arrested on sexual assault charges in Pennsylvania, stemming from a 2004 allegation. The actor/comedian has posted a $1 million dollar bond as is awaiting trial.
*Did Quentin Tarantino really violate copyright laws while creating Django Unchained? That's what the lawsuit claims.
*Does the "Soft Kitty" song of The Big Bang Theory actually belong to someone else, and has been used by the show all this time without permission? That's what the lawsuit people connected with the series are being asked.
*With the Dow Chemicals merger on the horizon, DuPont has announced the impending layoff of 1700 employees.
*Dan Rather has spoken about the back story concerning the new Robert Redford movie Truth.
*While he is still scheduled to compete in the 2016 Summer Olympics, swimmer Michael Phelps has announced his intentions of taking a swim coach position at Arizona State University, leaving many to suspect he plans to retire soon.
*Could Office Max, US Airways, Radio Shack, and Sears cease to exist by the end of 2016?

The Free Choice E-zine finished December with 3,442 page views! Giving us a whole year of 2000+ page views each month!


For more news at any time, either scroll down to our IN OTHER NEWS feature at the bottom of your screen or visit any other reputable news source.

THE PUZZLE CORNER: JANUARY 2, 2016

HAPPY NEW YEAR, and welcome to the first Puzzle Corner of 2016!

AKA (Also Known As)
By what name do we know John Joseph Patrick Ryan better as?

THE LETTER SHUFFLE
How many new words can you create, using the letters in the term NEW YEAR?

We'll reveal all next weekend. But for now, let's open up THE ANSWERS BOX and discover the results of the December 26, 2015 Puzzle Corner, and our FAMOUS FIRSTS CAROL QUIZ.

Many holiday songs, and multiple renditions of specific tunes, exist. But can you name the FIRST performer for each classic listed below?

01. Frosty the Snowman was first sung by Gene Autry in a 1950 recording.
02. Judy Garland was the first to sing Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas during the 1944 MGM musical Meet Me In Saint Louis.
03. Here Comes Santa Claus was first sung by its co-writer Gene Autry in 1947, although the classic radio version is actually of a later recording.
04. The Jingle Bell Rock was first performed by Bobby Helms in 1957.
05. Vaughn Monroe first pleaded Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow in 1946.
06. Believe it or not, there are two possible answers for this one!
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer first shined in 1948 when Harry Brannon sang it live on various New York City radio programs, but Gene Autry was the first to actually record the song the following year.
07. Eartha Kitt first purred Santa Baby in 1953.
08. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town is actually the oldest song on our list. Eddie Cantor was the first to sing it in a 1934 recording, although I personally like the rendition by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.
09. Silver Bells was first performed in the 1951 Paramount Picture The Lemon Drop Kid by its star Bob Hope, who continued to perform it on every TV Christmas special he did until his passing.
10. You are right to say Bing Crosby was the first to ever perform White Christmas, but he did so during his radio show on Christmas Day 1941. The movie Holiday Inn was in 1942, and the remake movie White Christmas was in 1954.
11. Sleigh Ride, as an instrumental, was first performed by The Boston Pops Orchestra conducted by Arthur Fiedler in 1949, although the popular radio version is actually of one of their later performances.
12. The Andrews Sisters were the first to sing Sleight Ride's lyrics in a 1950 recording.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2016: LOOKING AHEAD

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

IT'S JANUARY 1, 2016.

Hello, and welcome to the beginning of a brand new year!

The Commonwealth of Australia was formed on this day in 1901.
The Chinese government will now allow parents in their country to have up to 2 children, instead of one.
Meanwhile, Brunei (since 1984) and Samoa (1962) both celebrate their Independence today.

Besides the Summer Olympics and feeling melancholy about David Ortiz and Kobe Bryant ending their professional athletic careers, the 366 days of this Leap Year also includes...

POLITICALLY...
The citizens of New Zealand will be going to the polls in March 2016 to decide between keeping the country's current flag or adopting an alternative.
2016 is a Presidential Election year in the United States, with a slew of potential candidates still vying for the Republican nomination, while it looks like the Democrats have narrowed their preference down to either (alphabetically) Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders.

MEANWHILE, other anniversaries include the 140th ANNIVERSARY (in 1876) of Alexander Graham Bell creating the first working telephone (March 10)

125th ANNIVERSARY (1895)
Carnegie Hall opened (May 5)

85th ANNIVERSARY (1931)
Star Spangled Banner officially became United States' national anthem (March 3)

80th ANNIVERSARY (1936)
Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell first published (June 30)

75th ANNIVERSARIES (1941)
The USO was founded (February 4)
Citizen Kane debuted (May 1)

70th ANNIVERSARY (1946)
Walt Disney's Song of the South premiered (November 12)

65th ANNIVERSARY (1951)
Disney version of Alice In Wonderland was first released (July 27)

60th ANNIVERSARIES (1956)
My Fair Lady debuted on Broadway (March 15)
The US Supreme Court ended segregation on public buses (November 13)

55th ANNIVERSARIES (1951)
Yuri Gagarin first man in space, making one orbit of Earth before returning
The Dick Van Dyke Show debuted (October 3)

50th ANNIVERSARIES (1966)
Batman with Adam West and Burt Ward (January 12)
Dark Shadows (June 27)
Batman: The Movie, with West and Ward debuted (July 30)
American television officially went to full time color broadcasting (September 1)
Any other television program that debuted that fall, including Star Trek, Mission: Impossible, and The Monkees celebrate their major milestone
It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown first aired (October 27)
Animated version of Doctor Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas premiered (December 23)

45th ANNIVERSARIES (1971)
First Lunar Rover used (April 30)
Any television program that debuted that year

35th ANNIVERSARY (1981)
The Greatest American Hero (March 18)

30th ANNIVERSARIES (1986)
ALF (September 22) and any other television program that debuted that year

And of course, The Free Choice E-zine will achieve both our 1600 and 1700 post milestones this year, just based on the strength of our regular features: The Puzzle Corner and The Week In Review (news) on Saturdays, followed by comedy the next day with The Sunday Funnies.

So, here's hoping that 2016 is more peaceful, and less stressful and less violent than last year.