Today is...
International Jazz Day

When Louis Armstrong was asked what the definition of jazz was, he famously replied "If you've got to ask, you'll never know." Today is a worldwide day of celebration of jazz and its unique history.
The official birthplace of jazz music is New Orleans, but Kansas City and Chicago also have similar claims. Jazz fuses together African and European musical traditions. Blue notes, syncopation, and swing notes are all found in this style of music. There are many different sub-genres of jazz including early ragtime, swing, and bepop. Improvisation is also a large component of jazz; musicians often only start a song with one key and time signature from the bandleader.
International Jazz Day was created in 1991 by musician D. Michael Denny at which time a statement was recorded by the U.S. Congressional Record to officially recognize this day. To enjoy International Jazz Day, sit back, relax, and listen to your favorite jazz tunes!

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Today is also National Raisin Day

 
 
April is National Grilled Cheese Month & Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month

images and text courtesy of MyPunchbowl.com" -- http://www.mypunchbowl.com/

History for April 30 1889 - George Washington's inauguration became the first U.S. national holiday. 1939 - Lou Gehrig played his last game with the New York Yankees. 1947 - The name of Boulder Dam, in Nevada, was changed back to Hoover Dam. 1957 - Elvis recorded "Jailhouse Rock." 1964 - The FCC ruled that all TV receivers should be equipped to receive both VHF and UHF channels. ______________________________________________________ "Sooner or later in life everyone realizes that perfect happiness is unattainable, but there are few who pause to consider the antithesis: that perfect unhappiness is equally unattainable. The obstacles preventing the realization of both of those extreme states are of the same nature: they derive from our human condition which is opposed to everything infinite. The ever-insufficient knowledge of the future opposes it. The certainty of death opposes it: for it places a limit on every joy, but also on every grief." --Primo Levi