Never Give Up

Happy Labor Day to everyone here in the States! We're back home and nowhere near ready for our return to work, so it's a good thing we have this extra day to prepare ourselves mentally to once again enter the workday grind. You can catch all my blog posts from Alaska by clicking the word "vacation" in the label list on the right of the screen, if you're interested. But on to other issues....

So John McCain selects as his running mate the governor of Alaska while we were *in* Alaska. Coincidence? Hmmmmm.

I guess that means no matter how this presidential election falls out, we will be making history this November. Either we'll have our first African-American president, or our first female Vice-President.

Would that make her the Second Lady?

+++

NEVER GIVE UP

1831 - Failed in business.

1832 - Lost election for state legislature.

1834 - Failed again in business.

1835 - Sweetheart died.

1836 - Nervous breakdown.

1838 - Lost second political race.

1843 - Defeated for congressional seat.

1846 - Defeated for congress again.

1848 - Defeated for congress once again.

1855 - Defeated in U.S. Senate race.

1856 - Defeated in bid for Vice-President.

1858 - Defeated for U.S. Senate again.

1860 - Elected President.

Who is this person? Abraham Lincoln.

[first seen in Mikey's Funnies]

+++

WORD for YOUR WEEK: Here's a word that society and fashion have combined to create: Burqini. It's a mashup of the words "burqa" and "bikini." A burqa (sometimes spelled burka or burkha) is a garment worn by Muslim women that covers their body from head to toe. A bikini is almost exactly the opposite, often covering only the bare necessities (pun unintended) of the female body. It was named after the Bikini atoll in the South Pacific, where the U.S. was conducting nuclear bomb tests after World War II. It's designer, Louis Reard, believed that the "cultural shockwave" it would cause when he revealed it in 1946 was on a similar level, and so the name stuck. The burqini was created for Muslim women who want to engage in water sports and activities, but still want to maintain their religious beliefs and customs while doing so. I've put a picture of one below.

+++

Mark's Musings is also sent each weekday via email. Do not fail to get your own subscription for free by clicking here.