THE PUZZLE CORNER: MAY 7, 2016

FUN FACT
The average cat has 23 muscles in EACH ear!

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

TRUE or FALSE: When going on a "snipe hunt", there actually is such a thing as a snipe?

THE LETTER SHUFFLE
Everyone talks about it, but how many new words can you make out of the letters in the word WEATHER?

We'll reveal all next weekend, but for now, let's open up THE ANSWERS BOX and discover the results of the April 30, 2016 Puzzle Corner.

COMMON BONDS
For this edition, the SONGS in each subset below have something in common.
Do you know what it is?

01. {"Beat It" by Michael Jackson, "Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus}
Both songs have been parodied by "Weird" Al Yankovic, as "Eat It" and "Party in the CIA" respectively.
02. {"Manic Monday" by the Bangles, "Nothing Compares 2 U" by Sinéad O'Connor}
Both songs were written by Prince.

TRIVIA TIME
Believe it or not, there used to be a 27TH letter in the English alphabet!
Do you know what it was?
Believe it or not, it was the &. More details can be found here.

HAPPY CINCO de MAYO, MAY 5th 2016

Today is May 5th, Cinco de Mayo in Spanish.

While many think the celebration is in regards to Mexico's independence from Spain, that event is actually celebrated September 16.
Cinco de Mayo actually celebrates the Battle of Puebla, which took place on this date in 1862.
Now Mexico's fourth largest city, Puebla celebrates the unexpected victory of Mexican forces against the French, who were occupying parts of that nation at the time.
The date is more widely known as a celebration of Mexican history, heritage, and pride.

Today is also Liberation Day (from the Nazi forces of World War 2) for Denmark, Ethiopia, and the Netherlands.
It is also Children's Day in Japan and South Korea.

So enjoy the party and please CELEBRATE RESPONSIBLY.

Disfrute tan del partido y CELEBRE por favor RESPONSIBLY.

MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU 2016

It's THAT time of year again!

May the 4th, May Fourth, May the Fourth (Force) be with you, is the day Star Wars fans have chosen (pun unintended???)  to celebrate the science fiction series.

To join that celebration, here are some appropriate Star Wars themed jokes.

HOW WOULD YOU EXPLAIN THE MOVIE PLOTS TO SOMEONE WHO HAS NEVER SEEN THEM BEFORE...
04. A New Hope: Deadbeat Dad tries to get son to take over family business.
05. The Empire Strikes Back: Talking frog convinces Son to kill dad.
06. Return of the Jedi: Good guys win for now, but be prepared for a LONG wait till the story continues!
01.–03. The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, (and) Revenge of the Sith:
If you love backstory, great. Otherwise, keep waiting until Episode 7.
07. The Force Awakens: Finally! Kind of repeats A New Hope in some respects, but look how old the original cast is because we had to wait so long!

What is the favorite vehicle of Jedi Masters?
Toy Yodas.

If you are dating a girl who does not like Star Wars puns, then you are looking for love in Alderaan places.

Two Storm Troupers part company when suddenly one fires upon the other.
"Why did you do that?" the first Storm Trouper asks, thankful to still be alive.
The second Storm Trouper replies, "I just wanted you to know I that would always miss you."

May the Farce/Force be with you!

OUR APOLOGIES...

DEAR READERS:

The Free Choice E-zine operates basically on a shoe string budget, when we can afford to buy the

laces.
The above is not any attempt to solicit funds, just part of the explanation.
Sunday morning (May 1st) we attempted to get online to post that week's Sunday Funnies column featuring hostess Waxy Dragon, only to discover that our computer died!

After some scrambling, replacement parts, serious system updates, and a few well chosen curse words along the way that will NOT be repeated in a public forum, I am happy to report that The Free Choice E-zine is back on line!

Waxy's missing column will be posted at a later day, for the May 8th Sunday Funnies will be both her and Autumn the Puppy together to salute Mother's Day.

Meanwhile, our next post (above this one if you're reading them in chronological order) will be spotlighting May the Fourth Be With You/Star Wars Day.
Our regular features (The Puzzle Corner, The Week In Review, and the Sunday Funnies) will return this weekend as scheduled.

Again, our most sincerest apologies and thanks for your continued support of this E-zine.

Sincerely,
Lee Houston, Junior
Editor-In-Chief
4 May, 2016

THE WEEK IN REVIEW: APRIL 24-30, 2016

TODAY MARKS THE 45th ANNIVERSARY OF THE FIRST LUNAR ROVER

IN USE (DURING THE APOLLO 15 MISSION)

MAY IS BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH!

MAY 1st MARKS THE 75th ANNIVERSARY OF CITIZEN KANE.

MAY 1st IS ALSO MAY DAY.
MAY 4th IS STAR WARS DAY, ACCORDING TO ITS FANS.

MAY 5th IS THE 125th ANNIVERSARY OF CARNEGIE HALL OPENING.

MAY 5th IS ALSO CINCO de MAYO.

AMONGST EVENTS AROUND THE WORLD THIS PAST WEEK...
*NISSAN IS RECALLING ALMOST 3.5 MILLION VEHICLES BECAUSE OF FAULTY AIRBAGS!
*PILGRIM'S PRIDE IS ISSUING A RECALL OF OVER 4.5 MILLION POUNDS OF PRE-COOKED CHICKEN NUGGET PRODUCTS FOR THE INDUSTRIAL FOOD INDUSTRY!

*New Delhi, India's National Museum of Natural History and its entire contents has been destroyed completely destroyed by fire. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
*Contaminated milk has been found outside the cordoned off area surrounding the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
*The Japanese government announced that it will start testing mileage figures of Mitsubishi Motors vehicles following recent company revelations that testing data had been manipulated over a 25-year period.
*Serbia now has a new parliament.
*Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has been re-elected President of Equatorial Guinea.
*The United States has promised Syria to send up to 250 more ground troops to help that country defeat ISIL forces.
*Eliud Kipchoge won the men's and Jemima Sumgong the women's divisions of the London Marathon.
*Same gender marriages are now legal in Colombia.
*An art detective believes Leonardo DaVinci might have used TWO models to create the Mona Lisa.
*Pero the Sheepdog didn't like his new job so went back to his old home, 240 miles away!

IN NORTH KOREA...

*North Korea has allegedly strengthened their defenses along the demilitarized zone with South Korea by deploying 300 multiple rocket launchers. Meanwhile, China has announced concerns over all of North Korea's "missile tests", hoping to keep peace between North and South Korea.
*North Korea may also soon be facing a food shortage.
*While he hopes an accord can be eventually reached, United States President Barack Obama said the current offer from North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su-yong to halt nuclear activity isn't serious enough.


TERRIBLE TERRORIST ACTIVITIES...
*Missiles and suicide bombers seem to be the weapons du jour for this past week.
*Although they ARE terrorists, things may not be that peaceful amongst the ISIL forces!

PASSING PARADE...
*R&B singer Billy Paul ("Me and Mrs. Jones") has passed away.
*Tommy Kono, former Olympic weight lifting champion, is no longer with us.
*Actress Madeleine Sherwood (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Sweet Bird of Youth, The Flying Nun) has taken her last bow on life's stage.

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

*Between Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Maryland, Rhode Island, and Delaware Tuesday, Donald Trump swept the Republican Primaries in those states. Hilary Clinton won 4 out of 5, with Bernie Sanders claiming victory in Rhode Island.
*Although his chances of actually winning the Republican Presidential nomination are slim, Ted Cruz has named Carly Fiorina as his Vice Presidential running mate.
*Ted Cruz and John Kasich are allegedly coordinating efforts to make sure Donald Trump isn't named the Republican Presidential candidate the the GOP's summer convention.
*Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan allegedly hopes that cancer
patients will start dying quicker to help save health care expenses!

*While he hopes an accord can be eventually reached, President Barack Obama said the current offer from North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su-yong to halt nuclear activity isn't serious enough.
ELSEWHERE...
*Cleveland, Ohio, has agreed to pay $6 million to settle a wrongful death civil rights lawsuit brought by the family of 12 year old Tamir Rice.
*Would you believe those responsible for ruining the water in and around Flint,Michigan tried to get the town to pay their legal bills!
*Would you believe that a weasel is responsible for taking the Large Hadron Collider off line?

*NBCUniversal has acquired Dreamworks Animation for $3.8 billion.

Because of a Blogger System Update, our IN OTHER NEWS feature at the bottom of your screen is now ELSEWHERE: BBC BREAKING NEWS.

THE PUZZLE CORNER: APRIL 30, 2016

FUN FACT
Baby porcupines are called Porcupettes.

COMMON BONDS
For this edition, the SONGS in each subset below have something in common.
Do you know what it is?

01. {"Beat It" by Michael Jackson, "Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus}
02. {"Manic Monday" by the Bangles, "Nothing Compares 2 U" by Sinéad O'Connor}

TRIVIA TIME
Believe it or not, there used to be a 27TH letter in the English alphabet!
Do you know what it was?

We'll reveal all next weekend. But for now, let's open up THE ANSWERS BOX and discover the results from the April 23, 2016 Puzzle Corner's One Hit Wonder Quiz. (Songs and musical acts were originally listed alphabetically.)

♪ THE SONGS ♫
A.) Afternoon Delight = Starland Vocal Band (#9)
B.) Disco Duck = Rick Dees (#4)
C.) Don't Worry, Be Happy = Bobby McFerrin (#8)
D.) Funky Town = Lipps, Inc. (#6)
E.) King Tut = Steve Martin (#7)
F.) Puttin' On The Ritz = Taco (#10)
G.) Video Killed The Radio Star = The Buggles (#2)
H.) Walking In Memphis = Mark Cohn (#3)
I.) Walking On Sunshine = Katrina and the Waves (#5)
J.) Who Let The Dogs Out? = Baha Men (#1)

BOOK REVIEW: GAME OF THRONES BY GEORGE R. R. MARTIN

Even if you're like me and don't have access to the premium cable channels, most everyone is at least aware of Game of Thrones, the HBO series based upon the books by George R. R. Martin.

However, Game is actually just the first title in the overall series A Song of Ice and Fire. Five have been released, a sixth is long overdue, and the entire story is supposed to go at least seven novels in length.

Originally released in 1996, the three principal story lines feature Lord Eddard Stark being appointed the King's new Hand of Justice after the previous one was murdered; Eddard's illegitimate son Jon Snow being forced to join The Night Watch that guards The Wall to protect the land from a mysterious threat on the other side, since there is no future for him in his father's holdings at Winterfell; and a young girl named Daenerys Targaryen being forced to marry against her will in hopes that her abusive older brother can eventually usurp and claim the crown that he believes is rightfully his.

The above paragraph does not do the novel justice, for there is much political intrigue, drama, and adventure across the land of Westeros on a planet with an unique orbital path that results in years of summer and very extended winters. By the time you have read the final sentence of Game, only two of the ongoing plots have been resolved to any degree, but Martin is such a good writer that you're anxious to start the next novel to discover what happens.

Readers discovering the series today have the advantage of enjoying the first five novels without the long wait between releases, but be warned that there are many twists and turns in the story along the way, and not every character at the beginning will still be alive by the end of the book. As a reader, it's hard not to develop favorites only to see them suffer their literary demise, but such is the way of life and war even in a fantasy series.

I sincerely hope you enjoy the novel as much as I did.

Reviewed by Lee Houston, Junior