Thursday, September 27, 2012

Oklahoma Knowledge: Sports & Leisure

1.  What gaming center in Tecumseh offers-state-of-the-art bingo, simulcast horseracing, a Las Vegas roon, and even bowling?

2.  What is the name of the "biggest pep rally in Oklahoma" held each September at Oklahoma State University?

3.  What is the name of Tulsa's AA baseball team?

4.  What is the name of Tulsa's minor league hockey team?

5. In the 1912 Olympic Games, what Oklahoman became the first to win both the decathlon and the pentathlon?

6.  What Oklahoma City para-mutual facility offers almost year-round racing?


(Scroll down for answers)





















1.  Fire Lake Entertainment Center

2.  Orange Peel

3. Drillers

4. Oilers

5. Jim Thorpe

6. Remington Park

Monday, September 24, 2012

Oklahoma Knowledge: Arts & Literature

1.  Where did anti-booze crusader Carrie Nation publish her prohibitionist newspaper, The Hatchet, in 1905?

2.  What Oklahoman composed the classic folk song "This Land Is Your Land"?

3.  Shawnee's first newspaper, the Shawnee Chief, was renamed and moved to what adjoining town?

4.  What nationally famous pottery works was founded in Sapulpa in 1933?

5.  Where is the State Capital Publishing Museum, which features vintage printing equipment and newspaper memorabilia?

6.  What Tulsa facility is home to the world's largest and most comprehensive collection of American western art?




Scroll down for answers.






1.  Guthrie

2.  Woody Guthrie

3.  Tecumseh

4.  Frankoma Pottery

5.  Guthrie

6.  Gilcrease Museum

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Oklahoma Knowledge: History

1.  Where did William Wrigley manufacture his first package of chewing gum?

2.  In the 1920s, what Oklahoma town had more milliionaires per capita than New York City?

3.  What WWII submarine is on display in Muskogee?

4.  Consisting of 400 city blocks and some 2, 169 structures, where is the largest urban historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places?

5.  What notorious Apache chief was sent to Fort Sill in 1894, where he remained under military supervision until his death in 1909?

6.  Following statehood in 1907, what did the first law passed by the Legislature establish?


Scroll down for answers.








1.  Guthrie (113 North Division Street)

2.  Okmulgee

3.  USS Batfish

4.  Guthrie

5.  Geronimo

6.  Segregated public transportation

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Oklahoma Knowledge: Entertainment

1.  What nickname did Will Rogers receive early in his career, while working in wild west shows?

2.  Prior to pursuing an acting career, Tom Mix served as deputy town marshall in what community in 1912?

3.  What 1970 song with an Oklahoma theme was a country hit for Merle Haggard?

4.  In 1958 what western-styled theme park opened on the northeastern side of Oklahoma City?

5.  What is the hometown of country superstar Garth Brooks?

6.  Okeema is the birthplace of what activist folk singer of the Dust Bowl era?


Scroll down for answers.











1.  The Cherokee Kid

2.  Dewey

3.  "Okie From Muskogee"

4.  Frontier City

5.  Yukon

6.  Woody Guthrie

Friday, September 21, 2012

Oklahoma Knowledge: Geography

Check your knowledge of Oklahoma Geography by taking this six-question quiz:

1.  Where was the Creek (Muscogee Nation) Council House constructed in 1878?

2.  In Pontotoc County, what town is named for the daughter of the area's pioneer mail carrier and settler?

3.  Where is the Chisholm Trail Museum?

4.  What town served as the capital of the Territory of Oklahoma?

5.  The 1933 Creek settlement of Adams Springs was the precursor of what present-day town?

6.  Where is the largest Scottish rite temple in the world?






(Answers below)





1. Okmulgee

2.  Ada

3.  Kingfisher

4.  Guthrie

5.  Sand Springs

6.  Guthrie

Tomorrow's quiz will be on Oklahoma entertainment.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Lyrics

Lyrics from an old song:

Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep
It starts when you're always afraid
You step out of line, the man come and take you away

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Not a great week for us

Monday went fine.  Gail came over for our weekly duet practice.  We went over the piece we plan to play at the next humanist Sunday service on October 7.  The piece is titled "Festival Suite."  It was written by Robert D. Vandall.

I was sick this week, but am getting better now. 

Later that evening, we noticed the freezer was not keeping the food in it frozen.  It turns out there was a build-up of ice at the bottom preventing the door from closing properly.  We defrosted the sucker, and it seems to be working well now.

John Olson on healthcare (video)

Catch this response from Jim Bridenstine on the Affordable Care Act.  He is being questioned by John Olson.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2D0eEegRzso

Saturday, September 08, 2012

Progressive Book Club first meeting date set

The Progressive Book Club will hold its first meeting on Thursday, Sept. 20, at 7 pm. at Church of the Restoration, 1314 N. Greenwood Ave.  We will discuss the first two chapters.

Saturday activities

About 30 supporters of John Olson met this morning at the Democrat Headquarters of Tulsa County on the 10th floor of the Sun Building in downtown Tulsa.  We started at 9:00 am and finished around 2:00 pm, breaking for lunch which was catered in for us.  This was a day of training for precinct chairs.  I am the chair of precinct 855. 

John Olson is a veteran of Afghanistan who is opposed by Jim Bridenstine.  Bridenstine is supported by the Tea Party.  Bridenstine has called for the elimination of the capital gains tax and the estate tax.  Both actions would benefit primarily the extremely wealthy.  He would replace the loss of revenue by imposing a 30% national sales tax.  Such a draconian tax would likely cause the economy to come to a grinding halt.

I have been reading a fantastic book written by Thomas J. Mooney titled Live Forever or Die Trying.  As soon as I finish the book, I will have more to say about it.

Thursday, September 06, 2012

The Progressive Book Club

Please reserve the date September 20, a Thursday, 7:00 pm for a new venture at Church of the Restoration: a Progressive Book Club.
The first book we will read and discuss is Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States.  Please read the first two chapters prior to our first meeting.  They are: (1) “Columbus, The Indians, and Human Progress,” and (2) “Drawing the Color Line.”  I will prepare some discussion questions prior to our first meeting and send them to you by e-mail.
We will need to talk about future meeting dates.  It may be that the third Thursday is not the best time to meet.  We are open changing our meeting date and time so as not to conflict with other obligations you may have.
I am sending this e-mail to my list of progressive friends, but after the first meeting, I will set up a list for the Progressive Book Club.  If you cannot attend the first meeting but would like to be included on the list, please send me your e-mail address.  Vanessa says that www.zinnedproject.org may be a useful site for our discussions.
The first meeting will be held at Church of the Restoration, 1314 N. Greenwood Ave., at 7:00 pm on Thursday, September 20.

Monday, September 03, 2012

In the news

Last week was something of a busy week for me.  I was still in bed when the phone rang last Tuesday.  I let the call go to voice mail.  It was Erin Christy from Channel 2 wanting to do a television interview.  I went walking at the fitness center.  While I was there I got calls from KWGS and KRMG radio stations, both of which interviewed me over the phone.  I got another call from KTUL (Channel 8) asking for an interview.  I agreed to let them come to my house at 11:00 am.  I walked only for 30 minutes then left for the house.
I took a shower and put on clean clothes.  Soon the cameraman and Latoya Silmon showed up.  We talked about my plan to give the invocation at the Thursday Tulsa City Council meeting.  I suppose they read the article in the Tulsa World which had a headline something like “Atheist to give prayer at city council meeting.”  Seeing the piano in the living room, the crew asked me to play.  I played piano for them.  The interview (including me playing piano) was shown on the local news at 5 pm and at 6 pm and again at 10 pm.  At the end of the interview, the reporter said there would be extra security at Thursday’s City Council meeting.  Not wanting to put my life in danger, I decided to let future calls go to voicemail.  In all, I did two radio interviews and one TV interview.
I thought there might be people at the City Council meeting to protest, but nothing happened.  The invocation went off without a hitch.  Two of my friends were there to observe the proceedings.
In reporting the story, a Christian online newspaper mistakenly reported that I was a former Baptist preacher, and that the Humanist Association of Tulsa is a chapter of the ACLU, instead of a chapter of the American Humanist Association.