Good morning, Whitewater.

Our months ends with a rainy day, and a high of thirty-nine, in town. Sunrise is 7:05, and sunset 4:22, for 9h 16m 52s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 76.2% of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Friends of the Effigy Mounds Preserve meet tonight at 6:30 PM.

It’s Mark Twain’s birthday:

Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910),^[1] better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist. He wrote The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885),^[2] the latter often called “The Great American Novel“….
Samuel Langhorne Clemens was born in Florida, Missouri, on November 30, 1835. He was the son of Jane (née Lampton; 1803–1890), a native of Kentucky, and John Marshall Clemens (1798–1847), a Virginian. His parents met when his father moved to Missouri and were married in 1823.^[7][8] Twain was the sixth of seven children, but only three of his siblings survived childhood:Orion (1825–1897); Henry (1838–1858); and Pamela (1827–1904). His sister Margaret (1833–1839) died when he was three, and his brother Benjamin (1832–1842) died three years later. Another brother, Pleasant (1828–1829), died at six months.^[9] Twain was born two weeks after the closest approach to Earth of Halley’s Comet. His ancestors were of Scots-Irish, English, and Cornish extraction.^{[10][11][12][13]}

When he was four, Twain’s family moved to Hannibal, Missouri,^[14] a port town on the Mississippi River that inspired the fictional town of St. Petersburg in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.^[15] Slavery, then legal in Missouri, was a theme Twain would explore in these writings.

Puzzability begins a new series this week, The Possessive Filmfest. Here’s the 11.30.15 game:

This Week’s Game — November 30-December 4

The Possessive Filmfest

This week features some very personal movies. For each day, we’ll give you a series of clues, each of which leads to a word. You must drop one letter out of each of these answer words and put them together (in order), adding spaces as needed, to get the title of a movie that starts with a possessive first name.

Example:

Container for groceries / improved / out of danger / when dessert is served in a meal

Answer:

Babette’s Feast (bag / better / safe / last)

What to Submit:

Submit the movie’s title and the smaller words (as “Babette’s Feast (bag / better / safe / last)” in the example) for your answer.

Monday, November 30

Bouillabaisse or mulligatawny / seek’s counterpart / “___ sweet sorrow” / your instrument if you’re a singer

Good morning, Whitewater.

In town, Sunday will be mostly sunny with a high of forty-one.  Sunrise is 7:04 and sunset 4:22, for 9h 18m 20s of daytime.  The moon is a waning gibbous with 83.9% of its visible disk illuminated.

On Friday’s FW poll, on preferred shopping times, respondents selected from these choices (with multiple selections possible): Black Friday (26.83%), Small Business Saturday (25.61%), Cyber Monday (14.63%), but the most-selected choice was Other (32.93%).

On this day in 1942, America adds coffee to the list of rationed goods:

As of 1 March 1942, dog food could no longer be sold in tin cans, and manufacturers switched to dehydrated versions. As of 1 April 1942, anyone wishing to purchase a new toothpaste tube, then made from metal, had to turn in an empty one.^{[3]:129–130}Sugar was the first consumer commodity rationed, with all sales ended on 27 April 1942 and resumed on 5 May with a ration of .5 pounds (0.23 kg) per person per week, half of normal consumption. Bakeries, ice cream makers, and other commercial users received rations of about 70% of normal usage.^[6]Coffee was rationed nationally on 29 November 1942 to 1 pound (0.45 kg) every five weeks, about half of normal consumption, in part because of German U-boatattacks on shipping from Brazil.^[9] By the end of 1942, ration coupons were used for nine other items.^[3]:138Typewriters,gasoline, bicycles, footwear, silk, nylon, fuel oil, stoves, meat, lard, shortening and oils, cheese, butter, margarine, processed foods (canned, bottled, and frozen), dried fruits, canned milk, firewood and coal, jams, jellies, and fruit butter were rationed by November 1943.^[10] Many retailers welcomed rationing because they were already experiencing shortages of many items due to rumors and panics, such as flashlights and batteries after Pearl Harbor.^[3]:133

Rationing of some foods and non-medical items, however effective or ineffective, was yet a small price to pay to defeat the Axis.  (Rationing of medicine was, needless to say, a more significant sacrifice.)

On this day in 1848, Milwaukee gets an opera house:

On this date Milwaukee opened its first opera house with a performance of As You Like It. Over 1,000 patrons attended this inaugural performance. The idea for this arts structure was conceived and promoted by John B. Rice, later mayor of Chicago, who arrived in Milwaukee in 1846 to establish a first rate theater. [Source: History of Milwaukee, Vol II, p. 122]

Good morning, Whitewater.

Friday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of thirty-six. Sunrise is 7:01 and sunset 4:23, for 9h 21m 23s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 96.2% of its visible disk illuminated.

It’s been a century since Einstein’s general theory of relativity, and here’s a quick video summary of his remarkable insight:

On this day in 1882, a first performance, and on this day in 1903, the birth of a great player:

1882 – Ringling Brothers’ First Performance

On this date the Ringling brothers of Baraboo, Wisconsin performed their first show to an audience in Mazomanie. The brothers called their show the “Ringling Brothers Classic Comic Concert Company.” The show was barely a success, bringing in 59 paid admissions – just enough money to meet their hotel expenses. However, the brothers continued to tour and raised over $300 in three months, performing in Wisconsin, Iowa, and the Dakotas. After extensive investment and practice, the brothers launched their first circus in Baraboo on May 19, 1884. [Source: Badger Saints and Sinners by Fred L. Holmes, p.476-492]

1903 – Green Bay Packer Johnny Blood Born

On this date Johnny Blood (aka John McNally) was born in New Richmond. Blood was an early NFL halfback playing for Green Bay from 1929 to 1933 and 1935 to 1936. He also played for the Milwaukee Badgers, Duluth Eskimos, Pottsville Maroons, and the Pittsburgh Pirates. An elusive runner and gifted pass receiver, he played a major role in the Packers’ drive to the first three championships in 1929, 1930 and 1931. Johnny Blood died on November 28, 1985, at the age of 82. Titletown Brewing Co. in Green Bay named their brew Johnny “Blood” Red Ale after the famed halfback. [Source: Packers.com]

Here’s the final game in Puzzability‘s Eat! Eat! series:

This Week’s Game — November 23-27

Eat! Eat!

We’re serving up some trivia for this week’s feast. The answer to each day’s quiz question is a title or phrase that contains the sequence EAT in two places. Some instances of EAT may have a space between letters.

Example:

What 2013 hit by the indie rock band The Neighbourhood evokes autumn’s climate?

Answer:

“Sweater Weather”

What to Submit:

Submit the title or phrase (as “Sweater Weather” in the example) for your answer.

Friday, November 27

What tiny Off-Off-Broadway venue in New York was founded in 1996 to create “a joyful hell in a small space”?

Good morning, Whitewater.

Thanksgiving Day in Whitewater will be rainy but mild, with a high of fifty-six. Sunrise is 7:00 and sunset 4:23 for 9h 23m 00s of daytime. It’s a full moon today.

On this day in 1941, Franklin Roosevelt signs a bill establishing a special significance to the fourth Thursday in November:

The tradition of celebrating the holiday on Thursday dates back to the early history of the Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies, when post-harvest holidays were celebrated on the weekday regularly set aside as “Lecture Day,” a midweek church meeting where topical sermons were presented. A famous Thanksgiving observance occurred in the autumn of 1621, when Plymouth governor William Bradford invited local Indians to join the Pilgrims in a three-day festival held in gratitude for the bounty of the season.

Thanksgiving became an annual custom throughout New England in the 17th century, and in 1777 the Continental Congress declared the first national American Thanksgiving following the Patriot victory at Saratoga. In 1789, President George Washington became the first president to proclaim a Thanksgiving holiday, when, at the request of Congress, he proclaimed November 26, a Tuesday, as a day of national thanksgiving for the U.S. Constitution. However, it was not until 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving to fall on the last Thursday of November, that the modern holiday was celebrated nationally.

With a few deviations, Lincoln’s precedent was followed annually by every subsequent president–until 1939. In 1939, Franklin D. Roosevelt departed from tradition by declaring November 23, the next to last Thursday that year, as Thanksgiving Day. Considerable controversy surrounded this deviation, and some Americans refused to honor Roosevelt’s declaration. For the next two years, Roosevelt repeated the unpopular proclamation, but on November 26, 1941, he admitted his mistake and signed a bill into law officially making the fourth Thursday in November the national holiday of Thanksgiving Day.

On this day in 1838, a first:

1838 – Legislature Assembled in Madison for the First Time

On this date, after moving from the temporary capital in Burlington, Iowa, the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature assembled in Madison for the first time. Two years earlier, when the territorial legislature had met for the first time in Belmont, many cities were mentioned as possibilities for the permanent capital — Cassville, Fond du Lac, Milwaukee, Platteville, Mineral Point, Racine, Belmont, Koshkonong, Wisconsinapolis, Peru, and Wisconsin City.

Madison won the vote, and funds were authorized to erect a suitable building in which lawmakers would conduct the people’s business. Progress went so slowly, however, that some lawmakers wanted to relocate the seat of government to Milwaukee, where they also thought they would find better accommodations than in the wilds of Dane Co. When the legislature finally met in Madison in November 1838 there was only an outside shell to the new Capitol. The interior was not completed until 1845, more than six years after it was supposed to be finished. On November 26, 1838, Governor Henry Dodge delivered his first speech in the new seat of government. [Source: Wiskonsan Enquirer, Nov. 24 and Dec. 8, 1838]

Here’s the Thursday game in Puzzability‘s Eat! Eat! series:

This Week’s Game — November 23-27

Eat! Eat!

We’re serving up some trivia for this week’s feast. The answer to each day’s quiz question is a title or phrase that contains the sequence EAT in two places. Some instances of EAT may have a space between letters.

Example:

What 2013 hit by the indie rock band The Neighbourhood evokes autumn’s climate?

Answer:

“Sweater Weather”

What to Submit:

Submit the title or phrase (as “Sweater Weather” in the example) for your answer.

Thursday, November 26

What well-received 1982 documentary can no longer be seen because Paul McCartney bought its rights to make way for a more in-depth Fab Four documentary series?

Good morning, Whitewater.

Wednesday in town will be mostly cloudy with a high of forty-five. Sunrise is 6:59 and sunset 4:24 for 9h 24m 40s of daytime. We’ve a full moon today.

On this day in 1783, the last British soldiers leave New York:

…nearly three months after the Treaty of Paris was signed ending the American Revolution, the last British soldiers withdraw from New York City, the last British military position in the United States. After the last Redcoat departed New York, U.S. General George Washington entered the city in triumph to the cheers of New Yorkers. The city had remained in British hands since its capture in September 1776.

Four months after New York was returned to the victorious Patriots, the city was declared to be the capital of the United States. In 1789, it was the site of Washington’s inauguration as the first U.S. president and remained the nation’s capital until 1790, when Philadelphia became the second capital of the United States under the U.S. Constitution.

On this day in 1863, more than a dozen Wisconsin units win at Chattanooga:

1863 – (Civil War) Battle of Missionary Ridge at Chattanooga, Tennessee

Fourteen Wisconsin units — seven Wisconsin Infantry regiments and seven Wisconsin Light Artillery batteries participated in breaking the siege at Chattanooga. The 15th and 24th Wisconsin Infantry regiments were among the forces that charged up Missionary Ridge, broke through the Confederate ranks, and seized the strategic location on November 25.

Here’s the midweek game from Puzzability:

This Week’s Game — November 23-27

Eat! Eat!

We’re serving up some trivia for this week’s feast. The answer to each day’s quiz question is a title or phrase that contains the sequence EAT in two places. Some instances of EAT may have a space between letters.

Example:

What 2013 hit by the indie rock band The Neighbourhood evokes autumn’s climate?

Answer:

“Sweater Weather”

What to Submit:

Submit the title or phrase (as “Sweater Weather” in the example) for your answer.

Wednesday, November 25

What marine reptile, larger than all reptiles except three kinds of crocodile, has a shell that isn’t hard?