Friday, May 23, 2008

Congratulations, David Cook, 2008 Winner of American Idol
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Cook_(singer)

Headlines---

More on Passing of Paul Raynault
    Archives---May 23, 2000
    EAB Agrees to Purchase Fidelity Leasing
        Classified Ads---Controller
    Placard---If life deals you a lemon
About the ZRG Employment Index
by Christopher Menkin
    Stress Release program for your computer
        "banks need to be more aggressive"
Classified Ads---Help Wanted
    Google Receives Nearly 68% U.S. Searches
        Microsoft Service Pack 3
Oil surpasses $135 a barrel
    Fed: Spigot is off
        Airline industry not designed $130 oil
American Airlines to cut about 300 flights
    9 Airlines Face Threat/Credit Downgrade
        Home price index posts largest drop
We can see the smoke from Santa Cruz Mtn
    How David Cook won 'American Idol'
        News Briefs---
You May have Missed---
    California Nuts Brief---
        "Gimme that Wine"
    Calendar Events
Snapple Real Facts
    Today's Top Event in History
        This Day in American History
Baseball Poem
    SuDoku
        Daily Puzzle
    GasBuddy
Provence, France-Vacation
News on Line---Internet Newspapers
Boulder, Colorado

######## surrounding the article denotes it is a “press release”

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More on Passing of Paul Raynault

(Photo:www.cfifinancial.com)

from the National Association of Equipment Leasing Brokers:

NAELB Mourns the Loss of One of Our Own

“Paul Raynault, Chairman of CFI Financial Services, died on May 19, 2008 from surgical complications.

“He will be remembered for his love of live, his insatiable curiosity and his wanting to make a better world. Paul had a Masters in Statistics from Princeton University.

“While at IBM in the 1960s, he built their corporate planning model. He joined Tom Martin at CFI in 1971 and immediately began to develop new structures. He designed the first leveraged operating lease, developed the 'wrap' lease, the 'rent strip' and many tax deferral products.

“While engaged in leasing by day, he focused on solving the world's problems by night and developed papers to address these issues. He started a charter school, wrote a book on the history of the world, and founded his dream, Student World Assembly (SWA). SWA is a non-governmental organization of 17,000 University Students. Its members debate and vote on issues in an effort to promote understanding and dialogue.

“In keeping his dream alive, the family has asked for donations to be made at
http://www.studentworldassembly.org
or a check made to Student World Assembly at 214 N. Woodland, Englewood, NJ 07631.”
www.naelb.org

[headlines]

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Archives---May 23, 2000

EAB Agrees to Purchase Fidelity Leasing

(Crit DeMent, President and Chief Operating Officer of Fidelity Leasing, Inc., today Chairman and CEO, Leaf Finance, a part of Resource America. European American Bank Executive Vice President Ira Z. Romoff left when the bank was purchased by Citibank in 2001 (the departure also included Fred Anderson along with Omar Diaz and Rich Illich; Studebaker-Worthington, soon to be Main Street Bank Leasing.) Romoff then started the leasing division of Independence Community Bank Corp. of Brooklyn, purchased in 2005 by Sovereign Bank, and today is president of One World Leasing, a leasing "co-op" grown to 26 separate member companies, reportedly very selective in who joins their
very successful group. editor)

UNIONDALE, N.Y., May 23 /PRNewswire/ -- European American Bank, a commercial bank headquartered in Uniondale, New York, has agreed to purchase Fidelity Leasing, Inc. (FLI), a wholly owned equipment-leasing subsidiary of Resource America, Inc. (RAI). FLI, located in West Chester, Pennsylvania, has over $660 million of lease receivables under management. The purchase price will be paid in cash and a promissory note. EAB's leasing operation, headed by Executive Vice President Ira Z. Romoff, is presently among the twenty largest equipment leasing operations in North America, with net out standings in excess of $2.4 billion. It includes WASCO Funding Corp., American Equipment Leasing (AEL), and Banker's Leasing Association and also provides credit to hundreds of leasing companies across America. In addition to EAB's nationwide leasing offices, the bank manages the leasing portfolio of ABN AMRO Canada for its parent, ABN AMRO Bank N.V., the world's sixth largest bank by assets, which is headquartered in the Netherlands.

Edward Travaglianti, EAB's chairman and CEO said of the agreement: "We are very enthusiastic about the dramatic growth and performance of our leasing business over the last five years. FLI will accelerate this growth via its worldwide web delivery channel capabilities and its business-to- business e- commerce solutions to meet the needs of equipment vendors. Bringing FLI on board is part of our overall strategy for expansion through acquisition. While the closing of the FLI transaction is contingent upon certain conditions, we anticipate that approvals from U. S. and Dutch regulatory authorities will be forthcoming. We are also confident that the interim-period audit of FLI's financial statements will proceed smoothly."

"FLI is a good fit with EAB's present roster of leasing companies, whose focus is small-ticket and niche leasing activities," added Brendan J. Dugan, EAB's president and COO. "Their lending activities are producing particularly strong growth, making the operation an acknowledged leader in providing leasing services for small and mid-sized companies and funding for lessors. Last year's aggregate lease volume of $1.4 billion set another record for us. Acquisition of FLI will augment the inherent profitability of our leasing operation."
EAB's leasing business provides a range of leasing options to a broad array of industries, including those requiring computer, high-tech, medical, office, laboratory, manufacturing, machine tool, light construction, and golf equipment. WASCO Funding Corp., located in New York City; AEL, in Reading, Pennsylvania; and Bankers Leasing Association of Northbrook, Illinois, all contribute to the bank's nationwide reach.

Mr. Romoff commented: "Our dedication to finding financial solutions for our diverse clientele has made us a leader in funding finance leases and in single-investor leasing products. Our professional experience and financial strength, backed by the financial resources of ABN AMRO, have enabled us to develop the kind of resourceful funding opportunities and service that satisfy our customers."

EAB is a New York state chartered full-service commercial bank with assets of $15 billion. EAB operates 100 branches in the New York metropolitan area, lending production facilities in Connecticut and New Jersey, and leasing offices nationwide. EAB is a wholly owned subsidiary of ABN AMRO Bank N.V., with assets of $460 billion and 3,500 locations in 76 countries and territories.

SOURCE European American Bank
CO: European American Bank; Fidelity Leasing, Inc.; Resource America,

[headlines]

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Classified Ads---Controller

For a full listing of all “job wanted” ads, please go to:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Classified/Jwanted/Jwanted.htm

Leasing Recruiters:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Recruits/index.htm

To place a free “job wanted” ad here, please go to:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Classified/Jwanted/Jwanted-post.htm

[headlines]

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[headlines]

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About the ZRG Employment Index

by Christopher Menkin

Kenneth Vancini, managing partner, of ZRG, a finance/leasing executive search firm with 10 offices worldwide, the most recent in Shanghai, China, and I have been talking about this index for perhaps a year. Along with Larry Hartmann, Managing Partner, they are one of a few executive recruiters who come with direct management experience in the leasing industry. It has given them a great advantage and one of the reasons why the firm has grown since 1999.

Kenneth Vancini, managing partner

Vancini has had his research department spend a lot of time, testing sources, getting feedback, finding the accurate rather than “face” a bank, finance or leasing company wants to give. Along the way, they have been also getting advice on creating the index.
Leasing News with its viewpoint, knowledge, experience in creating “lists,” contributed during this period with the attitude not to create a chamber of commerce “business is great” attitude, but get what is really going on.

Ken Vancini summed it up in Wednesday’s story, “The idea is to focus on real data.”

There is more to thinking positive than denying what is happening as Leasing News has reported since last year that the leasing/finance economy was headed into another perfect story, that inflation was here. US Agriculture analyst Al Schuler, specializing in timber called, it “stagflation.” Inflation combined with a recession based on employment, government and private cutbacks, was his concern. It looks like the Fed is beginning to realize they lowered the prime too early and won’t be doing it again for a while; maybe it will rise after the national election.

The point here is being aware of the financial environment should put a company in a better position to not only survive, but make lemonade out of the lemon.

The cutbacks from CIT, Citibank, GE Capital, Merrill Capital, to name a few, as well as banks moving more out of the mortgage industry and other sectors, along with the affects of inflation can be gauged. To those with access to cash or the ability to raise it, there are opportunities opening up here and abroad. To those who stick their heads in the sand and do not recognize change, they are gambling to make a profit and survive.

The ZRG Executive Hiring Index showed “… a sharp decrease in overall hiring opportunities across the equipment finance and leasing industry, dropping from an average level of 700 for the first quarter to below 450 for April, 2008. This comes on the eve of a 33% decrease in March. “

“March peaks suggests optimistic January outlook for growth which was tempered by the unprecedented events of Q1 2008 in the financial services area. Firms have clearly slowed new hiring. The average index over the preceding four month period was 729 before the decline to 442 in April, showing a 48% drop from the peak in February. “

“We are seeing a shift in general senior leadership roles to operationally oriented roles including chief operating officers and vice-presidents of asset management and collections, “Vancini said. “ Syndications roles are also showing an increase.

“We are focusing less on growing top line originations and more on repayment and ROE issues.”

He notes, “Solid independents with syndication funding strategies, and diversified capital sources seem eager to take advantage of the market challenges to build scale.

“We see a clear divide in today’s market between those treading water and those trying to take advantage of the market conditions and growth, “ he said. “We are also seeing private equity backed specialty finance businesses reassess leadership and make the tough decisions to bring in new leaders to help navigate these unchartered waters.”

Vancini notes while there is still hiring occurring, it is becoming more selective than it ever was.

With less headcount to work with, quality hiring decisions are more important than ever.

Since there appears to be a 60 to 90 day lag in the actual hiring or employment results, the plan is to release the ZRG Index quarterly. They also hope to have an international model by the end of the year.

There is a blog where Vancini will answer question direct:
http://www.zrgroup.com/blog/viewBlogs.php?user_id=4

the complete ZRG Index Report:
http://leasingnews.org/PDF/ZRG_hiring_drop.pdf

Website: http://www.zrgroup.com/

[headlines]

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Stress Release program to use on your computer

Stress Relief---

You have two options for this software program:

First option is OPEN the file without saving it. You can see how this works, then decide if you want to “save” and have it as an executable file.

In the open mode, it works, but once you exit, the application is no longer available. You have to install it each time you want to use it.

The second option is to “SAVE “the “.EXE” on to your computer. You will have the application available to use any time, until you decide to delete the program.

http://www.leasingnews.org/EXE/StressRelief.EXE

Note: Hit the Esc to quit the application in either option.

[headlines]

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Home equity losses 'unprecedented'

John C. Dugan
Comptroller of the Currency

“…banks need to be more aggressive in reserving for potential losses. Comptroller of the Currency John Dugan said that "accelerating" losses on home equity loans reveal a need to increase reserves and improve underwriting standards at U.S. banks.

"I can't stress enough how crucial reserves will be in helping the industry manage its way through this situation," Dugan said.

In real dollar terms, losses on all home equity loans were $2.4 billion in the first three months of 2008, compared with $273 million in the first quarter of 2007.

Calling loan loss reserves "crucial," Dugan said the bank examiners
will begin urging the banks they oversee to be more diligent in analyzing their loan portfolios, including internal auditors being
more aware of loans approved, and as important, the banks
themselves should be putting aside more funds to deal with home equity losses.

"I can't stress enough how crucial reserves will be in helping the industry manage its way through this situation," he said.

Dugan also suggested that this new oversight may require limits on home equity loans, including those based on a borrower's stated, but not verified, income. More due diligence will be required.

[headlines]

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Leasing Industry Help Wanted

Collector

Collector Lake Success, NY --Referral Fee Available--- Full Time, entry or jr. level collector, auto and/or equip. collection exp. preferred. ekaye@advantagefunding.us or call Ed Kaye or Eric Coolbaugh: 866.392.1300 516-280-1786 Direct Dial 718-392-5427 FAX resume Lake Success is the western most village in Nassau County, conveniently located by car from the Long Island Expressway and Grand Central Parkway.

www.advantagefund.com

Leasing Sales Representative

“A Top Producers Dream” Outstanding Back Office Support High Commissions – Up To 80% Elite Training Program Access to many Major Funding Sources with the ability to obtain approvals not available elsewhere Click Here if you want to achieve more!

www.matrixbusinesscapital.com

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Google Receives Nearly 68 Percent of U.S. Searches in April 2008

Hitwise has announced that Google accounted for 67.90 percent of all U.S. searches in the four weeks ending April 26, 2008. Yahoo! Search, MSN Search and Ask.com each received 20.28, 6.26 and 4.17 percent respectively. The remaining 45 search engines in the Hitwise Search Engine Analysis Tool accounted for 1.40 percent of U.S. searches.

 Google an Increasing Source of Traffic to Key Industries

Hitwise also notes that search engines continue to be the primary way Internet users navigate to key industry categories. Comparing April 2008 to April 2007, the Travel, Entertainment, Business and Finance, Sports, Online Video and Social Networking categories showed double digit increases in their share of traffic coming directly from search engines. Here are the latest numbers of most used categories:

Search Engine Traffic by category

[headlines]

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Microsoft Service Pack 3

According to Peter C. Adams, VP Client Services, Lighthouse Information System, his company has installed Microsoft Service Pack 3 on my clients’ computers with no problems. When Service Pack
2 was released, most users waited a year for the “bugs” to be taken out. Accordingly that is not the case with Service Pack 3, now available in an automatic download from Microsoft.

It is almost 67mb download, slow, slow installation, too.

If any readers have had difficulties, please share with the rest of us.

[headlines]

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News Briefs----

Oil surpasses $135 a barrel on new supply concerns
http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/stories/2008/05/22/OilPrices.html

Fed: Spigot is off
http://www.nypost.com/seven/05222008/business/fed__spigot_is_off_112035.htm

Airline industry not designed for $130 oil
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/
052308dnbusairlines.37d22b7.html

American Airlines to cut about 300 flights
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/travel/2008-05-21-american-a
irlines-capacity-cuts_N.htm

9 Airlines Face Threat of a Credit Downgrade
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/23/business/23air.html?_r=1&ref=business&oref=slogin

Home price index posts largest drop in 17-year history
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2008-05-22-home-prices-drop_N.htm

Firefighters hope weakening winds slow Summit fire
(We can see the smoke in Saratoga as we are on the other side
of the Santa Cruz Mountain-North of the fire)
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_9350528?nclick_check=1

How David Cook won 'American Idol'
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iwXD4BoO2HF6nbttn2FU7Cw_ZtowD90QSJIO0

Missourian wins American Idol
http://stltoday.mycapture.com/mycapture/folder.asp?event=522514

'American Idol' finale ratings surprisingly high
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2008/05/american-ido-20.html

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You May have Missed---

Federal forecasters expect busy Atlantic hurricane season
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/storms/hurricanes/2008-05-22-hurricane-s
eason-predictions_N.htm

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California Nuts Briefs---

L.A. welcomes 18,000 new citizens, a city record
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-05-22-new-citizens-new-record-los-angeles_N.htm

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“Gimme that Wine”

Every Father Can Become a Master Winemaker With the Winepod Winemaking System
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080522/20080522005061.html?.v=1

Rethink pink
After tasting 135 domestic rosés, here are our top picks
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/22/WIAG10PADK.DTL

Visionaries put Oregonon the winemaking map
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080521/LIFE/
805210305/1001/NEWS

Men of the Year gather at Decanter
http://www.decanter.com/news/256839.html

Eric Asimov on Mondavi’s Legacy
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/21/dining/21mondavi.html?ref=dining

Former French footballer David Ginola has turned to the finer things in life - fine wine.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1999545/Footballer-David-Ginola-d
evelops-taste-for-wine.html

Wine Prices by vintage
http://www.winezap.com
http://www.wine-searcher.com/
US/International Wine Events
http://www.localwineevents.com/
Winery Atlas
http://www.carterhouse.com/atlas
Leasing News Wine & Spirits Page
http://two.leasingnews.org/Recommendations/wnensprts.htm
The London International Vintners Exchange (Liv-ex) is an electronic exchange for fine wine.
http://www.liv-ex.com/

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Calendar Events This Day

Morocco: National holiday
Commemorates referendum on the majority of the king in 1980.

National Taffy Day
http://southernfood.about.com/od/candyrecipes/r/blbb290.htm

Penny Day
http://holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/May/pennyday.htm
http://homeschooling.about.com/library/blmay23a.htm

Sacramento Jazz Jubilee
From today, Friday, through Monday, world’s largest traditional jazz festival.
www.sacjazz.com

Sweden: Linnaeus Day
Commemorates birth of Carolus Linneaus (Carl von Linne), Swedish naturalist, born May 23, 1707, and died at Uppala, Sweden, Jan. 10, 1778.

World Turtle Day
An observation sponsored by American Tortoise. Rescue to help people celebrate and protect turtles and tortoises, as well as their habitats around the world.
www.tortoise.com

Saint feast Days

• St. John Baptist Rossi
• St. Julia
• St. Didier
• St. William of Rochester
• St. Ivo
• St. Crispin of Viterbo
• St. Desiderius
• St. Epiphanius and Basileus
• St. Euphrosyne of Polotsk
• St. Eutychius & Florentius
• St. Goban
• St. Leontius
• St. Quintian
• Martyrs of Cappadocia
• Martyrs of Mesopotamia
• St. Michael of Synnada

http://www.catholic.org/saints/f_day/may.php

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Brown eggs come from hens with red feathers and red ear lobes; white eggs come from hens with white feathers and white ear lobes. Shell color is determined by the breed of hen and has no effect on its quality, nutrients or flavor.

[headlines]

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Today's Top Event in History

1865-Celebration of the end of the Civil War.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/may23.html

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This Day in American History

    1785- Benjamin Franklin, Philadelphia, PA, writes his friend, George Whately, “ I have only to move my eyes up and down as I want to see distinctly far or near” as he describes his invention that day of a bifocal eyeglass. He was annoyed at having to carry two pairs of glasses. He took a frame and equipped it with lenses that consisted of two parts with a different focusing powers. Inasmuch as ordinary spectacles in the colonies cost as much as $100 each, a huge sum of money in those days, his invention did not receive ready popular response, as only the wealthy could afford glasses.
    1788- By a vote of 149 to 73, South Carolina became the eighth state to ratify the Constitution. The colony originally named in honor of Charles I of England, became one of the United States on this day. The eighth state also has the dubious honor of being the first state to secede at the start of the Civil War in 1861. Its capital city is Columbia. The state bird is Carolina wren. The yellow jessamine (jasmine) is the state flower. It is also called the Palmetto State, after the palm tree that decorates the land.
    1803-In the Tripolitan War (1801-1805), Commodore Edward Preble was commissioned as commander of a U.S. Navy squadron to be sent against Tripoli.
Today my son Dash is a seaman on the U.S.S. Preble, an Arleigh Burke –guided missile destroyer.
http://www.usspreble.org/commodor.html
http://www.preble.navy.mil/
http://www.navysite.de/dd/ddg88.htm
    1810-Birthday of Margaret Fuller, journalist and author born at Cambridgeport, MA, began reading Virgil at age six. Her conversational powers won her the admiration of students at Harvard University and she was befriended by Ralph Waldo Emerson. She shared editorial duties with Emerson on the Transcendentalist quarterly “The Dial,” and was hired by Horace Greely as literary critic for the New York Tribune. Her book “Women in the Nineteenth Century,” the first feminist statement by an American writer brought her international acclaim. In 1846, as a foreign correspondent for the Tribune, she became caught up in the Italian revolutionary movement and secretly married a young Roman nobleman, the Marquee Giovanni Angelo Ossoli. En Route to the US, Fuller and her husband and died July 19, 1950, when their ship was wrecked off Fire Island near New York, NY.
    1832-"I would rather die upon yonder gallows than live in slavery". Samuel Sharpe, Jamaican hero, hanged. 1832 -- Jamaican national hero Samuel Sharpe hung. Instigator of the 1831 Slave Rebellion which began on the Kensington Estate in Saint James and was largely instrumental in bringing about the abolition of slavery.
http://www.jamaicaway.com/Heroes/SharpePage.html
    1846-Arabella Mansfield, born Belle Auerlia Babb near Burlington, IA, was the first woman admitted to the legal profession in the US. In 1869 while teaching at Iowa Wesleyan College, Mansfield was certified as an attorney and admitted to the Iowa bar. According to the examiners, “she gave the very best rebuke possible to the imputation that ladies cannot qualify for the practice of law. “ Mansfield never did practice law, however, continuing her career as an educator. She joined the faculty of DePauw University, at Greencastle, IN, where she became dean of the schools of art and music. One of the first woman college professors and administrators in the US, Mansfield was also instrumental in the founding of the Iowa Woman Suffrage Society in 1870. She died Aug 2, 1911, at Aurora, IL
    1864-The campaign between Union commander Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee, the commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, continues southward to the North Anna River around Hanover Junction. In early May, Grant crossed the Rapidan River with the Army of the Potomac and then clashed with Lee's forces in the Wilderness on May 5 and 6 before racing to Spotsylvania Court House for an epic 12-day battle. Grant's continuous pressure on Lee would ultimately win the war, but he was racking up casualties at a rate that was difficult for the Northern public to stomach. Grant believed that Lee could not maintain his position at Spotsylvania because two other Union armies under the command of Franz Sigel and Benjamin Butler were attempting to cut off the Confederate supply line in the Shenandoah Valley and the Rebel stronghold south of Richmond. But both were failing miserably. By 19 May, Grant had had enough of Spotsylvania. He pulled his troops to try another run around Lee to Richmond. Correctly predicting Grant's move, just as he had done two weeks before when Grant left the Wilderness for Spotsylvania, Lee raced the Yankees 30 km south and beat Grant's troops to the North Anna River. The rail center here was crucial to his supplies. At the North Anna, Grant found Lee's position to be even stronger than at Spotsylvania. The river had high banks, and Lee's side was higher than the Union side in several places. Still, Grant made an attempt to dislodge the Rebels. He made two assaults, but neither came close to breaking the Confederate lines. He would try again the next day before moving south to Cold Harbor.
    1865-Celebration of the end of the Civil War.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/may23.html
    1895-New York’s then-governor Samuel J. Tilden was the driving force that resulted in the combining for the private Astor and Lenox libraries with a $2 million endowment and 15,000 volumes from the Tilden Trust to become the New York Public Library. The main branch of the library opened to the public this day
(lower half of: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/may23.html)
    1900-Sergeant William H. Carney of the 54th Massachusetts Colored Infantry became the first black to win the Congressional Medal of Honor. He was cited for his efforts, although wounded twice, during the Battle of Fort Wagner, South Carolina, June 18, 1863. His commendation is very worth while reading: http://www.newbedford.k12.ma.us/elementary/whc.htm
    1903- Dr. Horatio Nelson Jackson of Burlington, VT, a physician, with Sewell K. Crocker of Seattle, WAS, as his mechanic, began the first non-professional transcontinental car trip. The same driver also drove the mileage in a 20 horsepower $2,500 Winton, manufactured by the Winton Motor Carriage Company of Cleveland, OH. Jackson and Crocker left San Francisco on May 23 and arrived in New York City on July 26. The average daily run was 25 miles. The trip lasted 63 days, of which 44 were spent traveling and 19 awaiting supplies, as there were very few gasoline stations, Howard Johnson’s or even Seven-11’s along the way. 1910-birthday of singer/guitarist/drummer Scatman Crothers, Terre Haute, IN
    1908-John Bardeen born Madison, Wisconsin; along with William Shockley and Walter Bratton, invented the transistor, which set the stage for all modern microelectronics. Bardeen was also the only person ever to win the Nobel Prize for Physics twice. Bardeen worked as a physicist for the U.S. Navy during World War II. After the war, he joined Bell Telephone Laboratories, where he worked on the electronic conducting properties of semiconductors. In 1947, his team invented the transistor, which won the group a Nobel Prize in 1956. Semiconductors replaced vacuum tubes in electronic equipment, making electronics progressively smaller, faster, and more durable. Bardeen became a professor of physics at the University of Illinois in Urbana. In 1972, he won a second Nobel Prize, with Leon Cooper and John Schrieffer, for their work on the theory of superconductivity. He died in 1991.
http://www.nobel.se/physics/laureates/1972/bardeen-bio.html
    1910-bandleader and clarinetist Artie Shaw birthday, whose real name is Arthur Arshawsky, was born in New York. Shaw formed his first orchestra in 1936, and two years later had a double-sided million-seller with "Begin the Beguine" and "Indian Love Call." One of the most popular artists of the swing era, Shaw is estimated to have sold more than 43-million copies of such records as "Frenesi," "Summit Ridge Drive" and "Dancing in the Dark." Artie Shaw was married eight times - two of his wives were Lana Turner and Ava Gardner. Shaw later became an author and a theatrical producer, and in the 1980's again began fronting a big band.
Birthday http://www.parabrisas.com/d_shawa.html
http://www.artieshaw.com/
    1920- Helen O'Connell birthday, vocalist with Jimmy Dorsey's band from 1939 to 1943, was born. Her duets with Bob Eberly, backed by the Dorsey band, on such songs as "Amapola," "Tangerine" and "Green Eyes" sold millions of records. O'Connell and Eberly also appeared on a 1953 TV show with bandleader Ray Anthony, and for a while during the 1960's, O'Connell was the hostess on NBC's "Today" show. She died September 9, 1993, San Diego, CA
http://www.parabrisas.com/d_oconnellh.html
    1922 - "Abie’s Irish Rose", opened at the Fulton Theatre in New York City. The play continued for 2,327 performances and numerous revivals as well. It is estimated that some 50,000,000 people have seen the play performed somewhere in the world.
    1928--Singer Rosemary Clooney was born in Maysville, Kentucky.
When Clooney was in her junior year in high school, she and her younger sister Betty began performing on Cincinnati radio station WLW. Bandleader Tony Pastor heard them, and soon the sisters were singing, in person and on record, with the Pastor orchestra. Betty tired of the road, and soon after Rosemary began a solo career. She signed with Columbia Records, and in 1951 had her first number-one hit, "Come On-A My House," a song chosen for her by producer Mitch Miller. Her other hits included "Hey There," "Tenderly" and "This Ole House." Clooney married actor Jose Ferrer in 1953. The marriage was a stormy one that eventually ended in divorce. Her domestic problems and a resulting weight problem took her out of circulation for some years. But she returned to singing in the 1970's and
also had a very popular television show. She died on June 29, 2002.
http://www.rosemaryclooney.com/
    1932-birthday of guitarist/flutist Les Spann, Pine Bluff, AR
    1934- Robert Moog birthday, inventor of the music synthesizer which bears his name, born New York City.
http://www.obsolete.com/120_years/machines/moog/
http://remixmag.com/ar/remix_robert_moog/
    1934-Clyde Champion Barrow and Bonnie Parker were shot to death by Texas and Louisiana state police officers as they attempted to escape apprehension in a stolen 1934 Ford V-8 near Bienville Parish, Louisiana. Bonnie and Clyde met in Texas in 1930 when the nineteen-year-old Bonnie was tending bar. At the time, Bonnie was married to an imprisoned murderer. Soon after the two met, Clyde was arrested for burglary and sent to prison. Bonnie smuggled a pistol into the prison, and Clyde broke out. Over the course of their crime spree together, Bonnie and Clyde were believed to have committed thirteen murders and several robberies and burglaries. For over two years, the couple evaded local police officers in rural counties of Texas, Louisiana, and New Mexico. Not until the FBI, then called the Bureau of Investigation, became involved in the case did law-enforcement officials gain ground on Bonnie and Clyde.. In the spring of 1934, following tireless investigations, federal agents traced the gang to a remote county in Southwest Louisiana. A certain Methvin family was said to have been aiding and abetting the Bonnie and Clyde gang for over a year. It was learned that Bonnie and Clyde, along with some of the Methvins, had staged a party at Black Lake, Louisiana, on the night of May 21. Two days later, just before dawn, a posse of police officers from Texas and Louisiana, including Texas Ranger Frank Hamer, laid an ambush for Bonnie and Clyde along the highway near Sailes, Louisiana. In the early morning, Bonnie and Clyde appeared in their automobile. The officers reported that the coupe attempted to flee, but more likely, owing to the fact that Bonnie and Clyde had killed five policemen, the posse opened fire without warning. For two minutes, deputies showered the car with bullets. Both Bonnie and Clyde were killed in the barrage. Their bullet-riddled 1934 Ford later became a valuable collectible. Bonnie and Clyde gained a place in popular mythology as dustbowl Robin Hoods. The 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde, starring Warren Beatty as Clyde and Faye Dunaway as Bonnie, portrayed a charming and irreverent pair who took their game too far. Examination of the couple's past, as well as an examination of their victims, shows that Bonnie and Clyde were more likely carefree killers. Their popularity owed to the mistrust of the authorities of the Dustbowl during the Depression era, and to the couple's uncanny ability to elude the police for over two years.
    1940-Frank Sinatra, singing with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, records "I'll Never Smile Again," the first of several No. 1 hits he recorded while performing with Dorsey. The singer had joined the orchestra earlier that year.
    1941 - Buddy Baer was disqualified at the beginning of the seventh round as Joe Louis defended his heavyweight boxing title for the 17th time. Baer’s manager refused to leave the ring when the round was ready to begin. He later became a well-known actor along with his brother, Max.
http://french.imdb.com/Name?Baer,+Buddy
http://www.antekprizering.com/baerbuddysig.html
    1944 - Chicago University called it quits to sports when it announced plans to withdraw from the Big 10 Conference of the NCAA and all other athletic competition.
    1944--*DUTKO, JOHN W. Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, 3d Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Ponte Rotto, Italy, 23 May 1944. Entered service at: Riverside, N.J. Birth: Dilltown, Pa. G.O. No.: 80, 5 October 1944. citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty, on 23 May 1944, near Ponte Rotto, Italy. Pfc. Dutko left the cover of an abandoned enemy trench at the height of an artillery concentration in a single-handed attack upon 3 machineguns and an 88mm. mobile gun. Despite the intense fire of these 4 weapons which were aimed directly at him, Pfc. Dutko ran 10.0 yards through the impact area, paused momentarily in a shell crater, and then continued his l-man assault. Although machinegun bullets kicked up the dirt at his heels, and 88mm. shells exploded within 30 yards of him, Pfc. Dutko nevertheless made his way to a point within 30 yards of the first enemy machinegun and killed both gunners with a hand grenade. Although the second machinegun wounded him, knocking him to the ground, Pfc. Dutko regained his feet and advanced on the 88mm. gun, firing his Browning automatic rifle from the hip. When he came within 10 yards of this weapon he killed its 5-man crew with 1 long burst of fire. Wheeling on the machinegun which had wounded him, Pfc. Dutko killed the gunner and his assistant. The third German machinegun fired on Pfc. Dutko from a position 20 yards distant wounding him a second time as he proceeded toward the enemy weapon in a half run. He killed both members of its crew with a single burst from his Browning automatic rifle, continued toward the gun and died, his body falling across the dead German crew.
    1945--SJOGREN, JOHN C. Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company I, 160th Infantry, 40th Infantry Division. Place and date: Near San Jose Hacienda, Negros, Philippine Islands, 23 May 1945. Entered service at: Rockford, Mich. Birth: Rockford, Mich. G.O. No.: 97, 1 November 1945. Citation: He led an attack against a high precipitous ridge defended by a company of enemy riflemen, who were entrenched in spider holes and supported by well-sealed pillboxes housing automatic weapons with interlocking bands of fire. The terrain was such that only 1 squad could advance at one time; and from a knoll atop a ridge a pillbox covered the only approach with automatic fire. Against this enemy stronghold, S/Sgt. Sjogren led the first squad to open the assault. Deploying his men, he moved forward and was hurling grenades when he saw that his next in command, at the opposite flank, was gravely wounded. Without hesitation he crossed 20 yards of exposed terrain in the face of enemy fire and exploding dynamite charges, moved the man to cover and administered first aid. He then worked his way forward and, advancing directly into the enemy fire, killed 8 Japanese in spider holes guarding the approach to the pillbox. Crawling to within a few feet of the pillbox while his men concentrated their bullets on the fire port, he began dropping grenades through the narrow firing slit. The enemy immediately threw 2 or 3 of these unexploded grenades out, and fragments from one wounded him in the hand and back. However, by hurling grenades through the embrasure faster then the enemy could return them, he succeeded in destroying the occupants. Despite his wounds, he directed his squad to follow him in a systematic attack on the remaining positions, which he eliminated in like manner, taking tremendous risks, overcoming bitter resistance, and never hesitating in his relentless advance. To silence one of the pillboxes, he wrenched a light machinegun out through the embrasure as it was firing before blowing up the occupants with handgrenades. During this action, S/Sgt. Sjogren, by his heroic bravery, aggressiveness, and skill as a soldier, single-handedly killed 43 enemy soldiers and destroyed 9 pillboxes, thereby paving the way for his company's successful advance.
    1945 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: ``Sentimental Journey,'' Les Brown Orchestra/Doris Day.
    1951---Top Hits
Mockingbird Hill -Patti Page
On Top of Old Smokey - The Weavers (vocal: Terry Gilkyson)
Too Young - Nat King Cole
Kentucky Waltz - Eddy Arnold
    1951- Jill E. Barad birthday. She became president of chief operating officer of Mattel, Inc., in 1992. She joined Mattel in 1981 as a product manager and became marketing director of the Barbie line in 1982. Under her guidance Barbie sales moved from $485 million in 1988 to more than $1 BILLION in 1994. Her marketing strategy included Hot Wheels as well as tie-ins with Disney, McDonald's, etc. She's made Mattel the largest toy manufacturing company in the world. She also bore two children while making her way to the top, not letting pregnancy slow her down. In fact, one of her major promotions came when she was five months pregnant. Today, there are more Barbie dolls in existence than there are people in the U.S.
http://www.surferess.com/CEO/html/jill_barad.html
http://aol.businessweek.com/1998/21/b3579001.htm
    1959---Top Hits
The Happy Organ - Dave ‘Baby’ Cortez
A Teenager in Love - Dion & The Belmonts
Dream Lover - Bobby Darin
The Battle of New Orleans - Johnny Horton
    1962 - The National Basketball Association agreed to plans to transfer the Philadelphia Warriors to San Francisco, CA. The team became the San Francisco Warriors (now the Golden State Warriors).
    1962 - Joe Pepitone of the New York Yankees set a major-league baseball record by hitting two home runs in one inning. The rare feat lifted the Yankees past the Kansas City Athletics by a score of 13-7.
    1964- Capitol releases The Beach Boys' "I Get Around" b/w "Don't Worry Baby." "I Get Around" goes on to become the group's first #1 hit, topping the chart for 2 weeks.
    1964-Millie Small's "My Boy Lollipop," already a hit in the U.K., enters the Hot 100 in the U.S. It stays on the charts for 12 weeks climbing up to Number Two.
    1965 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: ``Help Me Rhonda,'' The Beach Boys.
    1966-The Beatles' "Paperback Writer" b/w "Rain" single is released. The A-side was a tune written by Paul McCartney and featured John and George on backing vocals. The B-side was a Lennon song.
    1967---Top Hits
Groovin’ - The Young Rascals
Respect - Aretha Franklin
I Got Rhythm - The Happenings
Sam’s Place - Buck Owens
    1972 - Heavy U.S. air attacks that began with an order by President Richard Nixon on May 8 are widened to include more industrial and non-military sites. In 190 strikes, the United States lost one plane but shot down four. The new strikes were part of the ongoing Operation Linebacker, an effort launched in response to the massive North Vietnamese invasion of South Vietnam on March 30. The purpose of the raids were to interdict supplies from outside sources and the movement of equipment and supplies to the North Vietnamese troops in South Vietnam. The strikes concentrated on rail lines around Hanoi and Haiphong, bridges, pipelines, power plants, troops and troop training facilities, and rail lines to China.
    1973- Clive Davis, president of Columbia Records, was fired by boss Arthur Taylor. Davis wrote a book about his experiences, and later formed Arista Records.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0688028721/fast-bkasin-20/
002-0667839-4443242
    1975---Top Hits
Shining Star - Earth, Wind & Fire
Before the Next Teardrop Falls - Freddy Fender
Jackie Blue - Ozark Mountain Daredevils
I’m Not Lisa - Jessi Colter
    1979-The New England Whalers of the National Hockey League changed their name to the Hartford Whalers. The team was an original member of the World Hockey Association and won the first WHA championship, the Avco World Cup, in the 1972-73 season. When the WHA folded following the 1978-79 season, the Whalers were one of four WHA teams taken into the National Hockey League.
    1979-Sister Sledge's "We Are Family" goes platinum. The album's title track, a #2 hit last month, is the rallying call for baseball's Pittsburgh Pirates, who will go on to win the 1979 World Series in October. Perhaps best remembered in the US version of “The Bird
Cage.”
    1983---Top Hits
Let’s Dance - David Bowie
Flashdance...What a Feeling - Irene Cara
Little Red Corvette - Prince
Common Man - John Conlee
    1991---Top Hits
I Like the Way (The Kissing Game) - Hi-Five
Touch Me (All Night Long) - Cathy Dennis
Here We Go - C + C Music Factory Presents Freedom Williams and Zelma Davis
If I Know Me - George Strait
    1994- Prodigy Services announces a deal with Media General Cable to provide Prodigy access via cable television wires to 200'000 subscribers in Fairfax County, Virginia. Prodigy expected the cable hookup to provide faster speed and enable flashier graphics. At the time, most Prodigy users logged on to the system via 9600-baud modems. Over the next four years, modem speed would increase dramatically, but interest in cable modems would grow as companies like AtHome worked with local cable providers to offer higher-speed bandwidth.
    1994 ---Four men convicted in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center are each sentenced to 240 years in prison.
    2000 ---Joining Babe Ruth and Ted Williams, Seattle's Rickey Henderson draws his 2,000th career walk becoming only the third player in baseball history to reach the milestone.
    2002 - Buddy Guy is among the multiple winners at the W.C. Handy Awards, mounted by the Blues Foundation in Memphis. Guy wins for contemporary male artist of the year and blues instrumentalist of the year (guitar); his "Sweet Tea" is named contemporary blues album of the year.
    2006 - -Brad Paisley wins three of the evening's top awards at the Academy of Country Music (ACM) Awards. His "Time Well Wasted" (Arista Nashville) is named album of the year, and he also wins the video and vocal event prizes for "When I Get Where I'm Going," a hit collaboration with Dolly Parton.

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Baseball Poem

Rookie Instructions

On the path to second
you don't hesitate
or guess.
You read the pitcher,
his motion,
stance, arms,fanny,
grip on the ball,
and his legs

His whole body
tells you more
than any
history teacher ever did.

After looking,
take a few feet,
and dare the future.
Run hard
and slide.
Never, never
look back,
and if you're tagged
out,
I'll tell you about
the catcher.

Written by Robert L. Harrison,
“Green Fields and White Lies,”
Baseball poems, published by McFarland
& Company

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SuDoku

The object is to insert the numbers in the boxes to satisfy only one condition: each row, column and 3x3 box must contain the digits 1 through 9 exactly once. What could be simpler?

http://leasingnews.org/Soduku/soduko-main.htm

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Daily Puzzle

How to play:
http://www.setgame.com/set/puzzle_frame.htm

Refresh for current date:
http://www.setgame.com/set/puzzle_frame.htm

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http://www.gasbuddy.com/
http://www.gasbuddy.com/GB_Map_Gas_Prices.aspx
http://www.gasbuddy.com/GB_Mobile_Instructions.aspx

[headlines]

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Provence, France-Vacation

http://le-monastier.site.voila.fr/

[headlines]

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News on Line---Internet Newspapers

Boulder, Colorado

http://www.coloradodaily.com/

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[headlines]