Fun Facts--HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN

Hans Christian Andersen

Hans Christian Andersen was born on April 2, 1805 in Odense, Denmark. He was an only child. His father, also named Hans, introduced him to literature by reading Arabian Nights. 

Andersen moved to Copenhagen at the age of 14, hoping to get work as an actor. He was accepted at the Royal Danish Theatre as a soprano, but when his voice changed, he began writing.

King Frederick VI took a personal interest in 17-year-old Hans and paid for part of his education. He published his first story in 1822. He wrote more than 160 fairy tales, many of which began as folktales told to him as a child.

His birthday is celebrated as International Children's Book Day.

Hans Christian Andersen and The Ugly Duckling. Central Park, New York

Hans traveled extensively. In England, he met Charles Dickens and they became friends. Ten years later, he returned to England to visit again. After overstaying his welcome on a five-week visit to the Dickens home, Andersen's letters to Dickens went unanswered.

Danny Kaye as Andersen in the 1952 Film. This was one of my favorite movies when I was a child.

The Danish Government paid him an annual stipend and considered him a national treasure.

Hans Christian Andersen. City Hall Square in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Andersen often fell in love with unattainable women and in later years was attracted to nonreciprocating men. He never married.

The Little Mermaid. Langelinje Pier in Copenhagen, Denmark.

In 1872, he fell out of his bed and never recovered from his injuries. He died on August 4th, 1875. 

Fun Facts--MICKEY SPILLANE

Mickey Spillane

Born, Frank Michael Spillane on March 9, 1918 in Brooklyn, NY, Mickey Spillane was a pulp detective fiction writer. With more than two dozen novels, he was one of the top selling American authors of all time.  

Mickey's books were highly sadistic and sexual for the times. His covers were often lurid, featuring women in various states of undress. His books seemed sometimes misogynistic and downright misanthropic, but his 26 books have sold more than 200 million copies.  

I, the Jury, his first novel that introduced the character Mike Hammer, sold nearly a quarter of a million copies in its initial softcover run. The Mike Hammer books made the leap to movies almost immediately. Mickey Spillane once said that he didn't like any of the film adaptations of his books.

The TV series starring Darren McGavin ran from 1956-1959

The TV series starring Stacy Keach ran from 1984-1989.

Did you know?

Mickey Spillane grew up in Elizabeth, NJ. Through the years, he regularly attended Theodore Roosevelt Junior High School reunions.

Mickey didn't believe in self-adulation. When the town of Elizabeth named a street after him, he told the local newspaper, “Streets should be named after birds or numbers or something.”

Spillane started writing after returning home for the Army Air corps in order to raise enough money to buy some property.

Mickey Spillane played Mike Hammer in 1963 in The Girl Hunters.

He became a Jehovah's Witness in the 1950s.

Ayn Rand was a huge fan of Mickey Spillane's writing.

His first novel was written in 19 days!

Mickey worked in Barnum & Bailey's circus as a trampoline artist and was proficient in knife-throwing.

John Wayne gave Mickey a gift for his anti-communism--a Jaguar XK140.

He had an odd compulsiveness about punctuation and once insisted that 50,000 copies of Kiss Me, Deadly be destroyed because the the comma was left out of the title.

Spillane always dressed in black and white.

He wrote two children's books: The Day the Sea Rolled Back (1979) and The Ship That Never Was (1982).

Mickey started as a comic book writer in the 1940s. He wrote stories for Captain Marvel, Superman, Batman and Captain America.

Mickey Spillane died July 17, 2006 from pancreatic carcinoma at the age of 88 in Murrells Inlet, SC.

Fun Facts--CHARLES DICKENS

Charles John Huffam Dickens was born on February 7, 1812. He published 15 novels and numerous short stories, non-fiction, poetry and plays. Charles Dickens is regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian Period.

I found this beauty in a used book store.

Dickens was a critic of poverty and social stratification in Victorian society. His novels were often works of social commentary.

Writing at his desk.

Dickens preferred blue ink as it dried faster than other colors, eliminating the need for blotting.

In his Gad's Hill Place home, Dickens had a door built to look like a bookcase. Behind the door was a secret room.

If you're a fan of Dickens, you may enjoy the Charles Dickens Museum Gift Shop where you can purchase dip pens, bottled ink, quills, blotting paper, and other Dickensian objects like this Oliver Twist bowl .

Did You Know?

• Charles Dickens loved magic and would perform for friends.
• He was an epileptic.
• His first business card listed his occupation as a shorthand writer.
• Dickens enjoyed cold showers.
• The Arabian Nights was the book that inspired him most.
• Dickens was obsessive-compulsive and frequently re-arranged the furniture in his home.
• He was friends with Hans Christian Andersen.
• Charles Dickens would walk 20-30 miles a day. (The fact that he and his wife had 10 children may or may not be the reason.)
• He preferred to write in the wee hours of the night.
• Dickens sometimes combed his hair a hundred times a day!
• He preferred sitting and observing the poor and lower middle class than to dine with the upper class.
• Dickens was an insatiable cigarette smoker.
• Dickens died on June 9, 1870 and is buried in Poet's Corner at Westminster Abbey.

Happy Thanksgiving

Thursday is Thanksgiving. It's also Make Your Own Head Day. Feel free to combine those two holidays any way you see fit, and if you're feeling particularly artistic, by all means take photos and send them to me.

Right now, I'm neck deep in the first draft of my new novel, Halcyon Dream, and frantically trying to get to 50,000 words or more by midnight on Saturday. I'm fairly confident I'll make it to the finish line this year. When the first draft is complete, I'll print the whole mess out and then put it away until January. When I look at it with fresh eyes, I'm sure I'll shake my head quite often, wondering what the heck I was thinking when I wrote it. For now, I just want to get done so that I can enjoy the Christmas season. By enjoy, I mean pulling my hair out every time I think of all the things I need to do. In any case, I'm not there yet.

I've been thinking about what's in store for this blog in 2014. As soon as I figure it all out, I'll let you all know.

The Four for Friday feature was fun, but I'd like to do something new next year.
The Fun Facts feature needs a new theme for 2014. I think I have an idea, but we'll see.

Coming up with fun and interesting posts can be difficult during the best of times, but I find I sometimes devote more time to the research for a post than I do to my manuscripts. The most writing I accomplished in 2013 was my 50,000 NaNoWriMo words. I've noticed a number of blogger/writers with the same concern. I may cut down on the frequency of my posts so that I can be more productive with my writing in 2014.

I'm interested in how you all cope with blogging and writing, especially if you work a full-time job.

Anyway, I just wanted to let you all know that I'm thankful for each and every one of you, and to wish you all a safe and happy Thanksgiving Day.

Fun Facts about Make Your Own Head Day

This year, Thanksgiving falls on November 28th. Everyone else's blog is talking about turkeys, pumpkin pie, pilgrims and tryptophan-induced naps. 

That's all fine and good, but another holiday falls on the same day. Have you ever heard of Make Your Own Head Day? Neither had I, but you, my dear friends, will be glad I've done some research and enlightened you about this fun holiday. 

Now, you can amaze your friends and family at the dinner table with your vast knowledge!

Who created Make Your Own Head Day? I'm not really sure.

It could have been in 2007 when this Minnesota State graduate, who was immortalized in 50 pounds of butter, had her 15 minutes of fame on David Letterman. You can read about it here

In any case, Make your own head day is a day to make a likeness of your own head in any creative medium you choose. 

You could draw your head with crayons, markers, pencils, or paint. 

You could sculpt your head using clay, Play-doh, tin foil, Rice Krispies, Legos, styrofoam, or even plant matter. Let your imagination fly!

Or since this year, the holiday falls on Thanksgiving, you could be more traditional and use butter. 

Display your head on your dining room table and have your guests use the butter on their biscuits. You may want to take a photo of your buttery creation before everyone digs in, though.

Come to think of it, feel free to send me photos of your work. No matter what medium you use. If I get enough entries, I will run a contest. The photos will be posted in December, and you can all vote on your favorite. The winner will receive a $10 Amazon gift card! You can use it to buy books, art supplies, and believe it or not, BUTTER! 

Send your entries to my e-mail: dee stan 62 @ g mail dot com 

(It's written that way to confuse the bots. Leave out the spaces and replace the word 'dot' with a dot.)

Fun Facts about Candy Corn

October 30th is National Candy Corn Day!!

It's that time of year--when children of all ages go house to house dressed in costumes of their favorite superheroes, villains, and monsters. When parents raid their children's goody bags for all the best candy. (My favorite was Snickers. I told my kid they had peanut butter in it, and that she didn't like peanut butter.) When every store stocks its shelves with bags of candy, especially candy corn.

Made from sugar, corn syrup, carnauba wax and water, the candy corn is either loved or hated. Now that I'm older, I could take it or leave it, but it is one of the iconic symbols of Halloween. Each piece of candy corn is approximately three times the size of a real corn kernel, and each serving contains about 130 calories.

Each year, Americans consume enough candy corn to circle the Earth 4.25 times. Personally, I liked to eat them one at a time, biting off each color separately. This year, there will be 9 billion colorful little kernels produced.

--Did you know that Hersheys's made Candy Corn Kisses?

They are discontinued, but there is a Facebook page asking for them to come back. Check it out! Bring Back Hershey's Candy Corn Kisses There are only 39 fans, but maybe we can all like the page and get them to come back for next Halloween.

--Did you know there are things you can make from your leftover candy corn? Click on the photo for 9 yummy recipes.

--How about a recipe for bars that look like candy corn?

--And of course, what's a party without candy corn Jello shots? They seem like a lot of work, but if you MUST make them, here's a great recipe!

Now I'm getting hungry. What about you? Do you like candy corn?

Fun Facts--International Talk Like a Pirate Day (September 19th)

Ahoy! Everyone likes pirates. Not the smelly-rotten-teeth-sort-who-rob-innocent-people-and-kill-them kind of pirates.

No, no, no! I'm talking about the romantic-swashbuckling-flouncy-shirt-wearing kind of pirate. Avast!

Ahem. Aye. My pirate love began in 2003 when my daughter Amanda begged me to take her to the theater to see the new Orlando Bloom movie. I begrudgingly took her and settled in to take a nap in the dark, but when the opening credits showed an all-star cast and the music started playing, I was hooked.

In 1995, when a couple of guys began talking like pirates while playing raquetball, International Talk Like a Pirate Day was born. Read here for How it all started...


The Original Website has tons of activities like a Personality Test, Pickup lines, a map of the world, marking where the parties are, and even a free knitting pattern!

I'll leave you with a little video for your entertainment. Feel free to sing along!

Oh, and 'Hide the rum.'

August 15 (National Relaxation Day)

Fun Facts--July 12th

It's a new month, and I've decided to veer off the beaten path a little. This month's feature is all about Heterochromia to celebrate Different Color Eyes Day.

Heterochromia of the eye may come in two varieties. With complete heterochromia, one iris is a different color than the other.

In partial or sectoral heterochromia, only a part of one iris is different.

Celebrities:

Mila Kunis--one green and one brown.

Wentworth Miller--one blue and one green.

Virginia Madsen--one green and one brown.

Jane Seymour--one green and one brown.

Elizabeth Berkley--one bluish green and one brown.

Dan Akroyd--one green and one brown.

Kate Bosworth--one blue and one brown.

Christopher Walken--one blue and one hazel.

Kiefer Sutherland--one blue and one green.

Animals:

Cats--Breeds such as Turkish Van, Turkish Angora, Khao Manee and Japanese Bobtail. These odd-eyed cats are white, or mostly white and have one blue eye.

Dogs--Siberian Husky, Australian Shepherd, and Catahoula Leopard.

Horses--More common in horses with pinto coloring, they have one brown and one white, gray, or blue eye. 

Complete heterochromia may also be seen in cattle, water buffalo and ferrets.

Sectoral heterochromia is often seen in dogs, specifically in breeds with merle coats, such as the Border Collie, Collie, Shetland Sheepdog, Welsh Corgi, Pyrenean Shephard, Mudi, Beauceron, Catahoula Cur, Dunker, Great Dane, Dachsund and Chihuahua.

Literary Characters:

Tyrion Lannister from A Game of Thrones has one green eye and one black one.

The assassin Jonathan Teatime from Terry Pratchett's Hogfather has one grey magical glass eye and the other is yellow-white.

Wormtongue, in The Lord of the Rings, should have worn two pale blue contacts for the film, but the costumers discovered he looked creepier wearing only one.

Sally Owens, in Practical Magic, casts a spell for a man she thinks can't exist with one green eye, and one blue. Twenty years later, Detective Hallet is that man.

In the Anne of Green Gables sequel, Anne's House of Dreams, a pair of cousins have identical mismatched eyes.

In The Eternity Code, Artemis Fowl has one blue eye and one hazel because of an iris cam.

In Kristin Cashore's Graceling, all 'Gracelings' have this as a distinguishing characteristic. 

The evil sorceress Xayide has one red eye and one green in The Neverending Story. 

Leah from The Red Tent.

Alex in the Bill the Vampire series, has one brown eye and one green. 

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Do you have, or know anyone with Heterochromia?

Fun Facts--Father's Day

This year, Father's Day will be celebrated on my birthday--June 16th! Unfortunately, John and I both lost our fathers, but we have two NEW fathers in the family--my brother and my stepson.

Father's Day is a celebration honoring fathers and fatherhood. Many countries celebrate it on the third Sunday of June, but it is also celebrated widely on other days. Father's day is a commercial holiday and was created to complement Mother's Day. We wouldn't want to leave out the men, would we?

Father's Day was founded in Spokane, Washington at the YMCA in 1910. Sonora Smart Dodd wanted to honor her father, a Civil War veteran who raised his six children alone. Ms. Dodd didn't raise national awareness until the 1930s.

In 1966, President Lydon B Johnson issued the first presidential proclamation honoring fathers, designating the third Sunday in June as Father's Day. Six years later, President Richard Nixon signed the law, making the day a permanent national holiday.

Around the world:

In a few Catholic countries, Father's Day is celebrated on the Feast of St Joseph.

In Shanghai, China, the holiday was first celebrated in 1945.

Celebrated on Ascension Thursday, Father's Day in Germany is celebrated differently from other parts of the world. In Northern Germany, the day is called Mannertag (men's day) or Herrentag (gentlemen's day) groups of males do a hiking tour with one or more wagons pulled by manpower. The wagons hold wine or beer and traditional food. 

Out of the 27 states in the European Union, Romania was the only one without an official Father's Day prior to 2010.

Father's Day in Taiwan is observed on August 8th. In Mandarin Chinese, the pronunciation of both the number 8 and the month of August is very similar to the character which means father. 

In Thailand, Father's Day is set as the birthday of the king. December 5th is the birthday of the current monarch.

Did you know?

George Washington had no children of his own. Researchers believe that childhood illnesses may have rendered him sterile. 

For a short time, Kurt Vonnegut was Geraldo Rivera's father-in-law. Rivera's marriage ended because of his womanizing. Kurt Vonnegut included an unflattering character named Jerry Rivers (a chauffeur) in a few of his books.

In the underwater world of the seahorse, it's the male that gets to carry the eggs and birth the babies.

Nearly 95 million Father's Day cards were given last year in the United States, making Father's Day the fourth-largest card-sending occasion.

Sons and daughters send 50 percent of the Father's Day card to their dads. Nearly 20 percent of Father's Day cards are purchased by wives for their husbands. 

Mr. Mom is becoming a more common sight at parks across America with 154,000 estimated “stay-at-home” dads. 

More phone calls are made in the US during Mother's Day than Father's Day.

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Fun Facts--Mother's Day

Amanda and I (Spring 1988)

The modern tradition of Mother's Day was first celebrated in America, in 1908 when Anna Jarvis held a memorial for her mother and then began a campaign to make "Mother's Day' a holiday.

Many celebrations of mothers and motherhood have occurred for thousands of years. Today, Mother's Day is celebrated on various days and in many parts of the world.

Mother's Day through the years and around the World

In the Roman Catholic Church, the holiday is associated with the Virgin Mary.

In Australia, the chrysanthemum (ends in 'mum') is a traditional flower for mothers.

In Belgium, fathers buy croissants and other sweet breads and pastries and bring them to the mother while she is still in bed.

A tradition in Quebec is for men to offer roses or other flowers to the important women in their lives.

In China, the carnation is the most sold flower on Mother's Day.

In 1920s France, the government awarded the Medaille de la Famille to mothers of large families, hoping to encourage population growth.

In Germany, in 1938, the government issued an award called Mutterkreuz (Mother's Cross) with categories that depended on the number of children a mother had. Recipients were compelled to be examined by doctors and social workers according to genetic and racial values considered beneficial. Friends and family were also examined. The mother had to be 'racially and morally fit, German-blooded, genetically healthy, and politically reliable.' Poor housekeeping, smoking, drinking, or even contact with a Jew could disqualify a mother!

Traditionally, mothers have great importance in Indian culture. Special acts are performed to honor them and their contribution to the family.

In Indonesia, surprise parties and competitions (for cooking and kebaya wearing) are held on Mother's Day.

In the Philippines, the mother is called the "light of the household" around which all activities revolve.

The UK celebrates 'Mothering Sunday.' This holiday evolved from the 16th century practice of visiting one's mother church annually, and has mixed together with Mother's Day.

Ancient Greeks and Romans held festivals in honor of the mother goddesses, Rhea

and Cybele.

Mother's Day in the US

Celebrated on the second Sunday in May, Mother's Day is the third most popular card-giving day, and the second most popular gift-giving day. 

Mother's Day accounts for approximately 1/4th of the floral purchases made for holidays.

Pink is the traditional favorite for Mother’s Day flowers. 

Popular plants for Mother's Day

• Azaleas
• Chrysanthemums
• Dish gardens
• Gerberas
• Hydrangea
• Kalanchoe
• Orchids

14.6 Billion dollars will be spent on gifts for Mother's Day. 

26,683 jewelry stores will place orders for gifts on Mother's Day. 

Did you know?

Rajo Devi became the oldest woman in recorded history to ever give birth on November 28, 2008 when the 70-year-old delivered a baby girl in India.

Feodor Vassilyev and his first wife, whose name is unknown, holds the record for most children a couple has parented. She gave birth to a total of 69 children. She gave birth to 16 pairs of twins, 7 sets of triplets and 4 sets of quadruplets between 1725 and 1765, in a total of 27 births. 67 of the 69 children born were said to have survived infancy.

Still looking for the perfect gift for Mom?

Huffington Post's Weird Mother's Day Gift Guide: 21 Unusual Gifts For Your Unusual Mom

Ask Men's Mother's Day Gift Guide Video 

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Fun Facts--St. Patrick's Day

St Patrick, who lived from 385-461 AD, is the most commonly recognized patron saint of Ireland. Saint Patrick's Day, celebrated on March 17th, is a cultural and religious holiday which commemorates St Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland.

St Patrick's Day was made an official feast day in the early seventeenth century and has gradually become a celebration of Irish culture. The day is characterized by the attendance of church services, wearing green, public parades, and the lifting of Lenten restrictions on eating and drinking alcohol.

The Man

Patrick was born in Roman Britain into a wealthy family. His father was a deacon and his grandfather was a priest in the Christian church. When Patrick was sixteen, he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and taken captive to Ireland.

While in Ireland, Patrick had a dream that God told him to flee from captivity and go to the coast. He would board a ship and return to Britain. When he reached Britain, he joined the Church and studied to be a priest.

In 432, he returned to Ireland as a bishop to Christianize the Irish. Irish folklore tells that he used the shamrock to explain the Trinity.

The Myth

The mythology about St. Patrick is that he chased the snakes from Ireland. It's true that to this day, there are no snakes on the island, but there never were.

Green 

Originally, the color associated with St. Patrick was blue, but over the years, the color green became popular. Green ribbons and shamrocks were worn on St. Patrick's Day as early as the 17th century.

Around the World:

In 1903, St. Patrick's Day became an official public holiday in Ireland. The first St Patrick's Day parade was held in Dublin in 1931. In the mid-1990s the government of the Republic of Ireland began a campaign to use the day to showcase Ireland and its culture.

In Great Britain, Queen Elizabeth used to present bowls of shamrocks flown from Ireland to members of the Irish Guards.

In Japan, St. Patrick's Day parades are held in nine locations. Parades and other events related to the day spread across almost the entire month of March.

The first St. Patrick's Day parade took place in Russia in 1992.

The Irish Association of Korea has celebrated St. Patrick's Day since 1976 in Seoul.

The St. Patrick's Day Test is an international rugby league tournament played between the USA and Ireland.

Every year since 1961, The Chicago Plumbers Union sponsors the dying of the Chicago River in Illinois.

Parades

The shortest parade in the world takes place in Dripsey, Cork. The parade is 100 yards and travels between the village's two pubs.

One of the longest-running parades in North America occurs each year in Montreal, whose city flag includes a shamrock. The parades have been held continually since 1824.

The first parade was held in New York City in 1762.

The world's largest parade, held each year in New York City, is 42 blocks long.

Food

Corned beef and cabbage

Irish soda bread

Colcannon

Irish Stew

Green beer

Did you know?

• There are more Americans of Irish origin than there are Irish in Ireland (36 million Americans claimed Irish ancestry in 2008; population of Ireland was 4.4 million at the time)
• St. Patrick's true given name was Maewyn Succat
• It takes 40 pounds of dye to turn the Chicago River green for the holiday.
• The very first St. Patrick’s Day parade was not in Ireland. It was in Boston in 1737.

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