Half Armenian, Full Eagle
Today in 1789, George Washington takes the oath of office as the first President of the United States.
I was going to write more, but I am not feeling well, sorry it’s short, but enjoy the quick history fact 
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As a Christian, Holy Saturday (day after Good Friday and the day before Easter) is the day where we remember the dead body of Christ in his tomb.
In Eastern Orthodoxy, the first part of the service is Psalm 118/119 (depending on the which demonination) and it is the longest Psalm in the bible.
1: Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD.
2: Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.
3: They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways.
4: Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently.
5: O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes!
6: Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments.
7: I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments.
8: I will keep thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly.
9: Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.
10: With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.
11: Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
12: Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes.
13: With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth.
14: I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches.
15: I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways.
16: I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.
17: Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live, and keep thy word.
18: Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.
19: I am a stranger in the earth: hide not thy commandments from me.
20: My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times.
21: Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, which do err from thy commandments.
22: Remove from me reproach and contempt; for I have kept thy testimonies.
23: Princes also did sit and speak against me: but thy servant did meditate in thy statutes.
24: Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counsellors.
25: My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word.
26: I have declared my ways, and thou heardest me: teach me thy statutes.
27: Make me to understand the way of thy precepts: so shall I talk of thy wondrous works.
28: My soul melteth for heaviness: strengthen thou me according unto thy word.
29: Remove from me the way of lying: and grant me thy law graciously.
30: I have chosen the way of truth: thy judgments have I laid before me.
31: I have stuck unto thy testimonies: O LORD, put me not to shame.
32: I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart.
33: Teach me, O LORD, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end.
34: Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.
35: Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight.
36: Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness.
37: Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way.
38: Stablish thy word unto thy servant, who is devoted to thy fear.
39: Turn away my reproach which I fear: for thy judgments are good.
40: Behold, I have longed after thy precepts: quicken me in thy righteousness.
41: Let thy mercies come also unto me, O LORD, even thy salvation, according to thy word.
42: So shall I have wherewith to answer him that reproacheth me: for I trust in thy word.
43: And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth; for I have hoped in thy judgments.
44: So shall I keep thy law continually for ever and ever.
45: And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts.
46: I will speak of thy testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed.
47: And I will delight myself in thy commandments, which I have loved.
48: My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments, which I have loved; and I will meditate in thy statutes.
49: Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope.
50: This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me.
51: The proud have had me greatly in derision: yet have I not declined from thy law.
52: I remembered thy judgments of old, O LORD; and have comforted myself.
53: Horror hath taken hold upon me because of the wicked that forsake thy law.
54: Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage.
55: I have remembered thy name, O LORD, in the night, and have kept thy law.
56: This I had, because I kept thy precepts.
57: Thou art my portion, O LORD: I have said that I would keep thy words.
58: I intreated thy favour with my whole heart: be merciful unto me according to thy word.
59: I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies.
60: I made haste, and delayed not to keep thy commandments.
61: The bands of the wicked have robbed me: but I have not forgotten thy law.
62: At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee because of thy righteous judgments.
63: I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts.
64: The earth, O LORD, is full of thy mercy: teach me thy statutes.
65: Thou hast dealt well with thy servant, O LORD, according unto thy word.
66: Teach me good judgment and knowledge: for I have believed thy commandments.
67: Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word.
68: Thou art good, and doest good; teach me thy statutes.
69: The proud have forged a lie against me: but I will keep thy precepts with my whole heart.
70: Their heart is as fat as grease; but I delight in thy law.
71: It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.
72: The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver.
73: Thy hands have made me and fashioned me: give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments.
74: They that fear thee will be glad when they see me; because I have hoped in thy word.
75: I know, O LORD, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.
76: Let, I pray thee, thy merciful kindness be for my comfort, according to thy word unto thy servant.
77: Let thy tender mercies come unto me, that I may live: for thy law is my delight.
78: Let the proud be ashamed; for they dealt perversely with me without a cause: but I will meditate in thy precepts.
79: Let those that fear thee turn unto me, and those that have known thy testimonies.
80: Let my heart be sound in thy statutes; that I be not ashamed.
81: My soul fainteth for thy salvation: but I hope in thy word.
82: Mine eyes fail for thy word, saying, When wilt thou comfort me?
83: For I am become like a bottle in the smoke; yet do I not forget thy statutes.
84: How many are the days of thy servant? when wilt thou execute judgment on them that persecute me?
85: The proud have digged pits for me, which are not after thy law.
86: All thy commandments are faithful: they persecute me wrongfully; help thou me.
87: They had almost consumed me upon earth; but I forsook not thy precepts.
88: Quicken me after thy lovingkindness; so shall I keep the testimony of thy mouth.
89: For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.
90: Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth.
91: They continue this day according to thine ordinances: for all are thy servants.
92: Unless thy law had been my delights, I should then have perished in mine affliction.
93: I will never forget thy precepts: for with them thou hast quickened me.
94: I am thine, save me; for I have sought thy precepts.
95: The wicked have waited for me to destroy me: but I will consider thy testimonies.
96: I have seen an end of all perfection: but thy commandment is exceeding broad.
97: O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.
98: Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me.
99: I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation.
100: I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts.
101: I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word.
102: I have not departed from thy judgments: for thou hast taught me.
103: How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
104: Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.
105: Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
106: I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments.
107: I am afflicted very much: quicken me, O LORD, according unto thy word.
108: Accept, I beseech thee, the freewill offerings of my mouth, O LORD, and teach me thy judgments.
109: My soul is continually in my hand: yet do I not forget thy law.
110: The wicked have laid a snare for me: yet I erred not from thy precepts.
111: Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever: for they are the rejoicing of my heart.
112: I have inclined mine heart to perform thy statutes always, even unto the end.
113: I hate vain thoughts: but thy law do I love.
114: Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.
115: Depart from me, ye evildoers: for I will keep the commandments of my God.
116: Uphold me according unto thy word, that I may live: and let me not be ashamed of my hope.
117: Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe: and I will have respect unto thy statutes continually.
118: Thou hast trodden down all them that err from thy statutes: for their deceit is falsehood.
119: Thou puttest away all the wicked of the earth like dross: therefore I love thy testimonies.
120: My flesh trembleth for fear of thee; and I am afraid of thy judgments.
121: I have done judgment and justice: leave me not to mine oppressors.
122: Be surety for thy servant for good: let not the proud oppress me.
123: Mine eyes fail for thy salvation, and for the word of thy righteousness.
124: Deal with thy servant according unto thy mercy, and teach me thy statutes.
125: I am thy servant; give me understanding, that I may know thy testimonies.
126: It is time for thee, LORD, to work: for they have made void thy law.
127: Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold.
128: Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way.
129: Thy testimonies are wonderful: therefore doth my soul keep them.
130: The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.
131: I opened my mouth, and panted: for I longed for thy commandments.
132: Look thou upon me, and be merciful unto me, as thou usest to do unto those that love thy name.
133: Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.
134: Deliver me from the oppression of man: so will I keep thy precepts.
135: Make thy face to shine upon thy servant; and teach me thy statutes.
136: Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law.
137: Righteous art thou, O LORD, and upright are thy judgments.
138: Thy testimonies that thou hast commanded are righteous and very faithful.
139: My zeal hath consumed me, because mine enemies have forgotten thy words.
140: Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it.
141: I am small and despised: yet do not I forget thy precepts.
142: Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth.
143: Trouble and anguish have taken hold on me: yet thy commandments are my delights.
144: The righteousness of thy testimonies is everlasting: give me understanding, and I shall live.
145: I cried with my whole heart; hear me, O LORD: I will keep thy statutes.
146: I cried unto thee; save me, and I shall keep thy testimonies.
147: I prevented the dawning of the morning, and cried: I hoped in thy word.
148: Mine eyes prevent the night watches, that I might meditate in thy word.
149: Hear my voice according unto thy lovingkindness: O LORD, quicken me according to thy judgment.
150: They draw nigh that follow after mischief: they are far from thy law.
151: Thou art near, O LORD; and all thy commandments are truth.
152: Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them for ever.
153: Consider mine affliction, and deliver me: for I do not forget thy law.
154: Plead my cause, and deliver me: quicken me according to thy word.
155: Salvation is far from the wicked: for they seek not thy statutes.
156: Great are thy tender mercies, O LORD: quicken me according to thy judgments.
157: Many are my persecutors and mine enemies; yet do I not decline from thy testimonies.
158: I beheld the transgressors, and was grieved; because they kept not thy word.
159: Consider how I love thy precepts: quicken me, O LORD, according to thy lovingkindness.
160: Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.
161: Princes have persecuted me without a cause: but my heart standeth in awe of thy word.
162: I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil.
163: I hate and abhor lying: but thy law do I love.
164: Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgments.
165: Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.
166: LORD, I have hoped for thy salvation, and done thy commandments.
167: My soul hath kept thy testimonies; and I love them exceedingly.
168: I have kept thy precepts and thy testimonies: for all my ways are before thee.
169: Let my cry come near before thee, O LORD: give me understanding according to thy word.
170: Let my supplication come before thee: deliver me according to thy word.
171: My lips shall utter praise, when thou hast taught me thy statutes.
172: My tongue shall speak of thy word: for all thy commandments are righteousness.
173: Let thine hand help me; for I have chosen thy precepts.
174: I have longed for thy salvation, O LORD; and thy law is my delight.
175: Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee; and let thy judgments help me.
176: I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant; for I do not forget thy commandments.
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I was discussing this the other day and I thought it was weird how everything is so close. However, anyone can put two people together and find coincidences between them.
I’m not saying this is a conspiracy, but it is really interesting.
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Lincoln |
Kennedy |
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Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846 |
Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946 |
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He was elected President in 1860 |
He was elected President in 1960 |
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His wife lost a child while living in the White House |
His wife lost a child while living in the White House |
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He was directly concerned with Civil Rights |
He was directly concerned with Civil Rights |
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Lincoln had a secretary named Kennedy who told him |
Kennedy had a secretary named Lincoln who told him |
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Lincoln was shot in the back of the head in the |
Kennedy was shot in the back of the head in the |
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Lincoln shot in the Ford Theatre |
Kennedy shot in a Lincoln, made by Ford |
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He was shot on a Friday |
He was shot on a Friday |
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The assassin, John Wilkes Booth, was known by three |
The assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, was known by three |
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Booth shot Lincoln in a theater and fled to a warehouse |
Oswald shot Kennedy from a warehouse and fled to a |
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Booth was killed before being brought to trial |
Oswald was killed before being brought to trial |
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There were theories that Booth was part of a greater conspiracy |
There were theories that Oswald was part of a greater conspiracy |
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Lincoln’s successor was Andrew Johnson, born in 1808 |
Kennedy’s successor was Lyndon Johnson, born in 1908 |
*1 Note: It is an urban myth that Lincoln had a secretary named Kennedy. There is no record of that.
**2 Note: There is no record whether or not Kennedy’s secretary warned him.
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Many people think that this song was written centuries ago and is the National Anthem of Austria. However, it turns out that the song was written by Oscar Hammerstein II for the Sound of Music in 1959.
Edelweiss is a white flower found high in the Alpine hills and the lyrics reflect its change and the effect on people. I don’t really know if that makes sense, but it’s ok.
Edelweiss Lyrics
Edelweiss, Edelweiss
Every morning you greet me
Small and white, clean and bright
You look happy to meet me
Blossom of snow may you bloom and grow
Bloom and grow forever
Edelweiss, Edelweiss
Bless my homeland forever
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Doug Flutie is one of the most notable names in college football (and that whole pro thing he did). In 1984, he had one of the best years any quarterback had in college football history.
He had the Heisman trophy won since before his famous game since voting took place prior to November 23rd even though some people think that the final game locked it up. Flutie left school as the NCAA’s all-time passing yardage leader with 10,579 yards and was a consensus All-America as a senior. He earned Player of the Year awards from UPI, Kodak, The Sporting News and the Maxwell Football Club.
November 23, 1984 was voted the greatest college sports game in history. Flutie’s BC Eagles beat Miami Hurricanes 47-45 in a back and forth game which ended in a last second hail mary pass to Gerard Phelan.
At the time, I was almost 3 months old and my father was holding me in his hands. When they caught the ball, my father jumped up and I almost hit my head on the ceiling. Luckily for me I didn’t, but it is still a good story.
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Note: This obviously only applies to the USA because if you live in Armenia, you can get your permit at the age of 15, but that is besides the point.
On this day in Armenian History 1991, the Republic of Armenia declared it’s freedom from the (former) Soviet Union to be apart of the New Independent States which later became the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States). Along with Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan, they freed themselves from the control of the Soviet Union and communism.
In Armenia’s first years as a sovereign state, they had to deal with many problems that prevented them from thriving as a country. An earthquake that killed ten’s of thousands of people and the new President banning the Armenian Revolutionary Federation. Once Robert Kocharian became President in 1998, the country started to turn around and is doing very well for a *moderately developed country*.
Happy Independence Day Armenia!!!
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This is an image from a satellite in space of Mount Ararat.
| Elevation | 5,137 meters (16,854 ft) |
| Location | Iğdır Province, Turkey |
| Coordinates | 39°42.26′N 44°17.5′E |
| Type | Stratovolcano |
| Last eruption | 1840 |
Mount Ararat (Armenian: Ô±Ö€Õ¡Ö€Õ¡Õ¿) is the highest mountain in Turkey. Ararat was a part of Armenia until the Armenian Genocide in 1915 when Turkey took over that section of Armenia. Mount Ararat is an important landmark to Armenian’s because it shows the beauty of the sister mountains that were taken away from Armenia. It is a symbol in most paintings, songs, movies and mostly anything else to do with Armenia. It is also the background to my header image on my blog. In 2001, I stood at Khor Virab, which is the closest you can get to Ararat while still in Armenia, and watched the mountain for so long. I sat there thinking about the history and watched the amazing view of the twin peaks. The above image is not rendered in any way, it actually looks like that.
At some point in my life, one of my goals is to climb Ararat, but the Turkish government has issues with that. The climb is long, but there is a fairly easy route from the south in late summer for climbers who are familiar with the use of axe and crampons. Snow covers the last 400 m (¼ mile) year-round. There are two possible campsites on the mountain, and the glacier begins around 4,800 m (15,750 ft). The Turkish government requires a climbing permit and use of a certified Turkish guide. I found a company out of Turkey who will do everything for you and it only costs $1,500. I know that might be a lot to spend, but I will if it means completing a lifelong goal. If I do end up going, I will be documenting the entire trip.
Most people say they have never heard of Mount Ararat, but when you mention Noah’s Ark, they know that. One thing that they never realized though was the mountain that the Ark landed on after the 150 days was Mount Ararat. In the Bible, the book of Genesis, Chapter 8 1-5 reads:
“But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided. The fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were closed, the rain from the heavens was restrained, and the waters receded from the earth continually. At the end of 150 days the waters had abated, and in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. And the waters continued to abate until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen”
Facts:
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On the third day and final day of the battle, fighting resumed on Culp’s Hill, and cavalry raged to the east and south, but the main event was a dramatic infantry assault by 12,500 Confederates against the center of the Union line on Cemetery Ridge. Pickett’s Charge was repulsed by Union rifle and artillery fire at great losses to the Confederate army. Lee led his army on a torturous retreat back to Virginia. Between 46,000 and 51,000 Americans were casualties in the three-day battle.
Here is a website that shows you an interactive battle of Gettysburg
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Everyone in the US knows what a Zip code is, but most don’t know what it stands for. The name ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, was created on July 1, 1963 to make the US Postal Service more efficient.
ZIP codes are numbered with the first digit representing a certain group of U.S. states, the second and third digits together representing a region in that group (or perhaps a large city) and the fourth and fifth digits representing more specific areas, such as small towns or regions of that city. The main town in a region (if applicable) often gets the first ZIP codes for that region; afterward, the numerical order often follows the alphabetical order.
Facts:
The White House has its own secret ZIP + 4 code, separate from the publicly known 20500, for the President of the United States and the First Family to receive private mail.
ZIP code 10048 was assigned to the World Trade Center complex in New York, New York (until its destruction on September 11, 2001).
The code 77230 was assigned in 2005 for mail delivery to victims of Hurricane Katrina being housed at the Houston Astrodome[7], and is still in service today as a P.O.-box-only code.
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New Hampshire was one of the original Thirteen Colonies and became the ninth state to ratify the United States Constitution in 1788. New Hampshire was the first U.S. state to have its own state constitution, and is the only state with neither a general sales tax nor an income tax. Its license plates carry the state motto: “Live Free or Die.” The state nickname is “The Granite State”, in reference both to its geology and to its tradition of self-sufficiency. Several other official nicknames exist but are rarely used.
NH is my neighbor to the north and it was also my home while I was in college at Plymouth State University. It is also home to Mount Washington which holds the record for the highest recorded surface wind gust in the world at 231 mph.
The Old Man of the Mountain, also known as the great stone face, was a series of five granite cliff ledges on Cannon Mountain in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, that, when viewed from the correct angle, appeared to be the jagged profile of a face. The first recorded discovery of the Old Man was in 1805. The outcrop was 1,200 feet above Profile Lake, and measured 40 feet tall and 25 feet wide. It collapsed on May 3, 2003 after centuries of wind, snow, and rain, as well as freezing and thawing cycles, finally caught up with it.
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